Boozer's sideBoozer fires back
Forward to sign with Utah Wednesday
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
Carlos Boozer has had enough of the character assassination that has pounded him since last week's announcement that the Utah Jazz have offered him $68 million over six years.
Boozer has been accused of lying and backstabbing the team and its fans because he allegedly told the Cavaliers he would remain in Cleveland. As a result, the organization allowed him to become a free agent, with the intent to sign him to the mid-level exemption of $42 million over six years.
According to sources within the Cavs' organization, Boozer told team officials that if they didn't pick up his option, he would sign with them.
Boozer, speaking exclusively to The Plain Dealer by telephone Monday, said that is not true and he wants to set the record straight.
"I didn't make a prior agreement. And if I did, I would've stayed here," Boozer said. "For them [Cavaliers] taking shots at my character is incredibly wrong, and I don't understand that. I thought I had a great relationship with them. Maybe they're trying to save face or trying to make up stuff and kill my character. And if that's the road they want to take, that's OK."
Everything was apparently fine when Cavs management met with Boozer, his wife CeCe and agent Rob Pelinka on June 30. These were friendlier times, when the two sides were prepared to talk about Boozer's future with the organization. The only thing that is clear about this meeting is that the Cavs decided not to pick up the option on the last year of Boozer's contract, which was worth about $700,000. This is where things get cloudy.
"I assumed they were going to pick up my option and work something out for the long term, but they went another route," Boozer said. "I was shocked that they didn't pick up my option. I left the meeting excited because this meant that I was going to get a long-term contract."
Boozer was surprised the Cavs didn't pick up his option because he said management gave him every indication in earlier informal conversations that they would.
So on June 30, according to Boozer, owner Gordon Gund and General Manager Jim Paxson asked him what was important to him. Boozer said that financial security and remaining in Cleveland were important.
"But during that meeting, it seemed like they were going down the road of wanting a commitment," Boozer said. "My agent pulled out the collective bargaining agreement, and he said that the rules don't allow a verbal or written agreement and everyone at the table understood that. During the course of that meeting, it was brought to my attention that [management] weren't going to pick up the option. They made that [decision] on their own."
Boozer said he had no idea why they Cavs didn't pick up the option.
"Maybe with me telling them that I wanted to be in Cleveland and wanting to have security could've made them believe I was going to sign with them, but that wasn't an agreement," Boozer said. "I never gave them my word, never signed a document and I never shook hands with the idea that I was going to sign."
The two parties met again on July 1. Boozer said this is when Paxson told him what the midlevel exemption was worth. During the Fourth of July weekend, Boozer met with Cavs management and they continued to discuss his future, and they talked about his role with the team. This was the turning point during the negotiations.
"During those conversations, I asked those guys about my role on the team, and I expressed to them the direction I wanted to go individually and with the team," Boozer said. "I wanted the chance to become an All-Star and some [in the meeting] didn't think I could accomplish that here. One primary person didn't believe I could."
That primary person, according to an unnamed source in a published report, is coach Paul Silas. From there, Boozer said he told the organization that he would explore his options.
"I called Paxson and Gordon and told them what was out there and the situation that was presented to me in Utah," Boozer said. "They told me 'You can't do this, you gave me your word.' I told them that I didn't give them my word. The only organization I gave my word to was Utah. I called [Utah GM] Kevin O'Connor and I told him that I accepted their offer and that's the only word I gave during this process. I plan to sign the offer sheet tomorrow."
Gund and Paxson were not available for comment. Silas was not available. He's in Oakland because of his mother's recent death.
The Cavs, apparently, have not given up. According to league sources, the team offered Boozer on Monday a one-year deal for $5 million. If Boozer accepts the offer, he would become a restricted free agent next season. Boozer doesn't believe the Cavs' sincerity.
"Why would they try to sign me?" Boozer said. "They've tried to demoralize me as a human being. They tried to depict me as a kind of guy that bamboozled people. They've lied and painted a picture that we had an illegal deal. They tried to say we had an oral agreement before July 1, and that didn't happen."
There also are rumors that Boozer wanted out of Cleveland because of some animosity toward LeBron James, and that he wanted to become the top gun.
"I'm not saying I want to be the man," Boozer said. "I'm going to Utah where Andrei Kirilenko is already an established All-Star in this league, and they have stud players like Matt Harpring and Mehmet Okur. I feel mature enough, educated about the game enough and good enough to take on more responsibility. . . . Obviously, there's no question that the man on the team is LeBron, and he's well-deserving of it. There's no way I would try to overshadow him."
