Carmelo Anthony: Who Needs Him! Carlos Boozer Is Here!
By Ronald Agers
Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
The title is kinda strong isn’t it? Well now that I have you attention, listen up. Does your Chicago Bulls need Carmelo Anthony? Sure. Will he help the Bulls in the one category that they lack? Absolutely. But there is an issue that the Bulls seem to cringe at when it’s time to do business. That issue is writing big checks. If Carmelo Anthony comes to Chicago, there are two checks Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf has to write. One check will be the big one to Anthony if he decides to come to the Windy City. The other check will be for $16.8 million dollars to Carlos Boozer for the opportunity.
Well Pippen Peoples, are you excited? Are you ready for 51,765 rumors concerning the offseason moves of the Chicago Bulls? Do you still think Carmelo Anthony will come to Chicago? How about Nikola Mirotic? Kevin Love? Well I can tell you all something. Pippen Ain’t Easy will be every busy trying to bring you the most accurate information on the Bulls offseason moves.
Well let me give you some information that is pertinent and is totally accurate.
Carmelo Anthony is not coming to the Chicago Bulls, guaranteed.
Kevin Love is not coming to the Chicago Bulls, guaranteed.
UNLESS…
Carlos Boozer’s contract is coming off the books.
I wrote a column a few weeks ago stating that Carlos Boozer being amnestied was not a foregone conclusion. The Chicago Bulls would like to trade Boozer to another team to free up cap space to make a run for a major free agent.
Sure, like that’s going to happen. What team do you know is going to give the Bulls equal value for a player that nobody in Chicago can stand? The amnesty rumors have been going on for so long, every team knows that Boozer will be gone in some form of fashion real soon. Why give up assets for a player that they can get for cheap later?
Oh yeah, the Carmelo Anthony dude. The entire NBA knows that the Bulls have to get rid of Boozer’s contract to even entertain bringing Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Love to Chicago. Last I heard other teams would like their services as well. Why help the Bulls out? Please don’t bring up the expiring contract talk. If that was the case, the Bulls could have unloaded him last year at the trading deadline. It would have been a chore, but it would have been easier than what the Bulls are dealing with these days, trust me. Teams are not looking at expiring contracts the way they used to. The flavor of the month these days are draft picks. Check out what the Philadelphia 76ers are doing, study it and learn from it because that’s the new way of business in the new luxury tax era.
Let me tell you something that is really scary for all of the Boozer haters out there. The NBA teams aren’t even your biggest problem.
Your team owner, Jerry Reinsdorf is.
According to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf may not sign off on the one time amnesty clause to waive Carlos Boozer.
"“The Bulls have not given any indication that they’re going to create the cap space for Anthony by using their one time amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer. Inside the team’s executive offices, there was a fear as of Friday that owner Jerry Reinsdorf won’t give his go ahead to have Boozer’s $16.8 million lopped off the books. He’s as opposed to paying a player to walk away as he is to forking over even a dime in luxury tax.”"
This is a red flag. No check that.. this is red meteor headed directly towards the United Center. If a team wants to win a championship, the team will do what it takes to build a champion. Period. If your owner is haggling over money, that means he is not willing to do what it takes to get this franchise ring number seven. If Reinsdorf wanted Anthony as bad as you fans do, this column couldn’t even be written unless it was a R.I.P Legion of Booz piece.
This is easy for me to say, just like it’s easy for everyone else to tell Jerry Reinsdorf to cut the check to send Boozer on his way. But ask yourselves this question. How easy would it be to cough up nearly 17 million dollars to watch a player walk out the door and get signed to another team next month? We’ve seen Reinsdorf’s stand on that luxury tax bill. Luol Deng being sent packing showed us that. That stand on amnesty could keep Carlos Boozer in Chicago.
You see Pippen Peoples, here’s where we sometimes disconnect. Some of you just see what is going on courtside. I watch the front office. My father, Walter Agers always tells me this rule of business that I have brought to Pippen Ain’t Easy. A successful organization always starts at the top. If there is chaos at the top, nothing ever goes in the right direction. If you want an example, why not take a long look at the front office of the San Antonio Spurs and their hierarchy. Not the team, but the owner who you probably have to google because you never hear from him. That’s a good thing. He hires people to make solid basketball decisions. How about R.C. Buford? He only won NBA Executive of the Year this year. Everyone knows Gregg Popovich who won NBA Coach of the Year. What makes them great is the system throughout the organization from top to bottom. I have a question to ask. Have you ever heard San Antonio Spurs and salary cap in the same sentence? I’ll wait. Tim Duncan has already opted in to his contract. Notice the serenity here? The Spurs winning the championship isn’t the surprise. It’s the precision from throughout the organization and efficient planning that led to the easy beat down of the Miami Heat. That is the shock.
I have asked the same question to Bulls fans over and over again. Do you want to win or not? Then you have to slow down and look at the franchise as a whole. Luol Deng was traded to save money. There were not trades at the deadline to make money. The Bulls did not want any deals that would bring back extra salary. If that was the case, Mike Dunleavy probably could have been traded to Houston.
As an analyst for the Bulls, I will say it now and continue to say it. Carlos Boozer has to leave this roster. Forget the finances. This could disrupt the team going forward. Taj Gibson should be in the starting lineup playing 30-35 minutes a night. Tom Thibodeau and Boozer do not get along and never will at this point. That little league system that Thibodeau was using to split up the minutes was a complete joke and wasn’t fair to either Gibson or Boozer. Waive Boozer, take the loss and move on.
Now as a writer, I couldn’t be happier. The Legion of Booz will be in effect and I can write 150 to 200 columns next year alone based on this potential mess. The drama will be endless. TNT will have nothing on this bunch if he stays.
Well Bulls fans, the media is telling you that the Bulls are building a title contender. I’m saying that they are not. We’ll know in two weeks who’s right and who’s not. If Carlos Boozer is in uniform on opening night and is not amnestied. The Bulls true intentions will be shown. Get money.