EC Playoffs Round 2: (1) Cavaliers vs. (4) Celtics

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

It doesnt matter to me how they lost Boozer, they could have kept him. Boozer is better than every player James has ever played with. AND a good fit. They shouldnt have even let him have the chance to seek out other offers.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

MKF, they agreed to a new deal and then he double crossed them. He could have just left the next year when his contract expired and he probably would have considering what happened.

Here is the gist from how I remember it going down:
Boozer had a team option on his contract, he was widely considered to be one of the best bargains in the league at that time. He agreed in principle with the Cavs to sign a new contract at less than the max if he would be released from the team option, essentially this allowed him to get the same amount of money as a max deal would have over the same time period with the mutual benefits of an earlier raise for Boozer while saving cap space for the Cavs. So they were locking him up at the time, trying to build a core without maxing out on just one or two guys.

Of course Utah saw he was released and offered him the max they could and he took off. At the time Utah's GM was criticized as well for this move because every team in the NBA had did this type of move which was technically skirting the NBA's salary cap. And as a result, no player since has been offered this same deal. Boozer not only screwed over the Cavs, but many of his fellow players league wide in the process.

 

[kennadog]

^^The reason I will never like Boozer. The Cavs were doing him a favor, to make him happy and he turned out to be a dirty, untrustworthy double-crosser.

 

[kennadog]

Suicide watch in Cleveland.

Feel sorry for them. That could be us one day.

Thanks for the reminder, Mr. Killjoy.

 

[Emma]

And as a result, no player since has been offered this same deal. Boozer not only screwed over the Cavs, but many of his fellow players league wide in the process.

This is the reason why I stop myself every time I start to think Boozer would be a good addition. Every single time I conjure up an image of him kicking puppies. Can't help it. That's a bad man in my book. Has he even apologized?

 

[Kingster]

Suicide watch in Cleveland.

Feel sorry for them. That could be us one day.

Yep. I couldn't help but think about the Kings and Tyreke when I watched this series. Cleveland seems to have had a different growth process than the Kings though. LeBron propelled them quickly out of the draft lottery, so his supporting cast came primarily through trades and FA, which can only take you so far. Kind of the opposite of an OKC. As a result, his supporting cast isn't great. The Kings are getting a top 5 pick this year, and they have Hawes, Thompson, Greene and Casspi that either have been slow to mature or are just young. The Kings should be in the lottery again next year. The Kings also have a superior coach. So I think that when Tyreke gets to his FA, he's going to have a lot of talent around him here, and I'll take a wild guess that his coach will be better than Mike Brown, all of which is going to make it very difficult for Tyreke to go to greener pastures.

But on a different note, Boston showed it's still a team game. You can't win with one guy against Boston. Same thing is going to hold true for the Kings going forward. The Kings team can't be just oriented around Tyreke; otherwise they will have the same thing happen to them a few years down the line that Boston did to Cleveland.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

I dont like what Boozer did, Im just saying .. they could have picked up the option, or they could have matched. I know they couldnt fit him with that figure under there cap, but they could have made some moves. I dont know, I feel like if a team wants a player, they keep them.

Even if that move wasnt available to them .. They didnt have to get Hughes, Shaq, Jamison .. not the way to build a contender. Jamisons contract is going to be a killer.

 

[Peter_Gibbons]

All that going to NY for a bigger market is bs in my opinion. Lebron is going to make big money with any team. The endorsements are all international so it doesn't require him to be in NY. Maybe he'll miss out on a few local NY gigs, but the fact that the Cavs can offer $30 million more more than makes up for it.

It comes down to winning. His decision will probably be based on whether he is confident the guys he has on the Cavs can win a championship. If they can't, how long will it take to rebuild the roster. Their biggest chance to rebuild quick is getting some nice pieces for Shaq. With most of the teams in the NBA losing money, someone will make a cost cutting move next year. Can the cavs capitalize? Or better yet, can they convince Lebron to stay based on the possibility of getting some pieces back for shaq? It'll be interesting.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

All that going to NY for a bigger market is bs in my opinion. Lebron is going to make big money with any team. The endorsements are all international so it doesn't require him to be in NY. Maybe he'll miss out on a few local NY gigs, but the fact that the Cavs can offer $30 million more more than makes up for it.

It comes down to winning. His decision will probably be based on whether he is confident the guys he has on the Cavs can win a championship. If they can't, how long will it take to rebuild the roster. Their biggest chance to rebuild quick is getting some nice pieces for Shaq. With most of the teams in the NBA losing money, someone will make a cost cutting move next year. Can the cavs capitalize? Or better yet, can they convince Lebron to stay based on the possibility of getting some pieces back for shaq? It'll be interesting.

i dont think he'll go to new york knicks bc they really don't have much of a team.. only a buttload of capspace. the nets on the other hand, have good young players, (center, pg).. high draft pick. he would instantly make that team a playoff contender. maybe a year or two they'd be contenders coming out of the east.