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Carlos Boozer Is Still Available?

Paul Steeno|

Unrestricted free agent power forward Carlos Boozer continues to search for a new team for the 2015-16 season. After averaging 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, the 33-year-old may have to take his talents overseas if he still wants to continue his career as a professional basketball player.

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Although his production has dwindled with age, Boozer can still contribute off the bench and could be a valuable asset for a contending team in need of frontcourt depth. With his talent, it seems highly likely that he will play basketball somewhere next season. The team that he plays for and the country that this team is in remains largely unknown.

ESPN writer Marc Stein reported that Boozer has drawn interest from a number of professional basketball teams in China, although he would rather play in the NBA next season.

According to Sportando’s official Twitter page, the Shandong Lions are another Chinese professional basketball team that has expressed interest in acquiring the services of Boozer. CBS Sports writer James Herbert pointed out that Boozer “can probably make much more money in China willing to sign for the minimum  surely some team will give him a contract.”

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On July 7, ESPN writer Chris Broussard reported that the New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks and Toronto Raptors had expressed interest in signing Boozer.

At the end of July, the New York Post reported that the New York Knicks had also shown some interest in the veteran forward. Obviously, none of these teams acted upon their interest.

Most recently, Sun Sentinel writer Ira Winderman hinted that the Miami Heat could sign Carlos Boozer to fill out the rest of their roster.

With Boozer still on the market, should the Chicago Bulls consider signing him for the upcoming season? Money isn’t an issue this time around. As previously noted, a desperate Boozer would likely sign with a NBA team for a veteran minimum salary figure.

According to RealGM, during the 2015-16 season, a team has to pay a player with 10+ years of experience a minimum of $1,499,187, if signing this player to a minimum salary exception. According to NBA Salary Cap FAQ, this money won’t count against the cap.

"MINIMUM PLAYER SALARY EXCEPTION — Teams can offer players minimum salary contracts even if they are over the cap. Contracts can be up to two years in length. For two-year contracts, the second season salary is the minimum salary for that season. The contract may not contain a bonus of any kind. This exception can also be used to acquire minimum salary players via trade. There is no limit to the number of players that can be signed or acquired using this exception."

The Chicago Bulls have 15 players on their roster. While teams can carry more than 15 players before the beginning of the season, they have to cut down to 15 once the season begins. At the beginning of the regular season, teams can have a maximum of 13 players on the active roster, with two additional players under contract. This limitation makes Boozer’s chances of making the active roster unlikely, especially with the current composition of this team.

A simple eye test concludes that the Bulls don’t need Carlos Boozer. This team is already very deep in the frontcourt, and if Boozer does sign with the Bulls, he wouldn’t get playing time. Boozer’s height (6’9″) makes him more of a power forward than a center, and the Bulls have four players on their roster that play power forward as their natural position. Proven veterans Taj Gibson and Pau Gasol will not have their minutes reduced to leave playing time for Boozer.

Additionally, if new head coach Fred Hoiberg plays Boozer, this could potentially stunt the growth of Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis. The Chicago Bulls have too many bodies in the frontcourt and Boozer would likely be the odd man out.

Like Pau Gasol, Boozer’s current skill set isn’t particularly compatible to the type of offense that Hoiberg will run in Chicago. At Iowa State, Hoiberg virtually eliminated the mid-range jumper from his offense. Only 8.5 percent of shots that the Iowa State Cyclones took last season categorized as mid-range jumpers. Unfortunately for Boozer, as his athleticism continues to dwindle with age, along with much of his production coming from mid-range.

According to Basketball-Reference, 41 percent of Boozer’s shot attempts last season came from between 10 feet and the three-point line. Boozer has been remarkably efficient from this range, shooting 47 percent on shots 10-16 feet away from the basket and 36 percent on attempts from between 16 feet and the three-point line. Under Hoiberg, a large part of Boozer’s game would be neutralized.

Boozer’s defense becomes an even bigger issue. Last season, he only managed to grab one defensive win share and had a defensive box plus/minus value of -1.5. Bleacher Report writer Scott Polacek believes that his defense will continue to worsen if he plays in the NBA next season.

“Boozer’s lack of lateral quickness at this stage of his career is also a concern on defense, especially against athletic power forwards who can attack the basket off the dribble and from a triple-threat position,” Polacek wrote.

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    • Advanced statistics indicate that Boozer only grabbed 15.7 percent of the total available rebounds on his team last season.  His 0.2 blocks per game was another career low. All of these statistics were a testament to his declining jumping ability. If the Bulls want to correct their defense and dominate the boards next season, employing Boozer won’t help accomplish these goal.

    Last season, the Bulls deviated from the stout defense that had defined this team for a number of seasons.

    Collectively, the team had a 101.5 defensive efficiency rating, which ranked 11th in the NBA. Obviously, Boozer is a poor defender and wouldn’t contribute to improving the Bulls performance in this category for the upcoming season.

    Additionally, Boozer’s lack of offensive rebounding would also hurt the Bulls defensively. Blog-a-Bull writer TheHungarianJordan pointed out in a recent column that the Chicago Bulls still ranked fourth in the NBA in opponent field goal percentage last season. The defense fell off because they were 29th in the league in opponent field goal attempts per game. This was a result of the Bulls surrendering 11.7 offensive rebounds per game to opponents, good for 27th in the league.

    A large part of rectifying the Bulls defense comes down to stopping their opponents from getting offensive rebounds. Boozer would do little to help in this category. Another issue for the Bulls last season was their pick-and-roll defense. As a big man, Boozer would often be asked to defend this type of set. If the Bulls want to improve in either of these areas, giving Boozer minutes isn’t the way to go about doing this.

    Realistically, the Bulls could sign Carlos Boozer. However, at this stage in his career he will not contribute to the long-term goals of this franchise. If the Bulls want to regain the defensive identity that defined this team in previous seasons, signing Boozer isn’t the way to go.

    Further more, mid-range shooting; the one facet of Boozer’s game that remains serviceable, doesn’t mesh with Hoiberg’s vision of the Chicago Bulls offense next season. Don’t expect a reunion of Carlos Boozer in Chicago anytime soon. Find someone else to blame for the Bulls’ problems.

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