Carlos Boozer

[AllforOne]

Did the Cavs have the option to match his offer sheet?

No.

It does seem they were screwed regardless, as he would have been able to do the same thing after the next season.

Exactly. The Cavs were boned no matter what because of the CBA rules at the time. It’s not as though there was a world in which Boozer would have stayed with the Cavs past the 2004-05 season (absent a hometown discount or him shredding a knee or whatever).

 

[prf100]

This is also worth noting:

Boozer earns his nickname

APIn case anyone from Northeast Ohio forgot what he looks like, this is Carlos Boozer.Take heart, Cavaliers fans. About 1.3 billion people think Carlos Boozer lied, too. Or at least that he has an oddly shaped head. In honor...

www.cleveland.com

How did I miss this? Greatest nickname ever. I will not be able to hear, read, or say Boozer without at least thinking Betrayal Skull Dude for the rest of my existence.

 

[Huber.]

The Cavs could match but couldn't freely go over the cap to do so like teams can today.

IIRC matching on Boozer would have meant waiving Zydrunas and then some others.

Probably would have been a good move in hindsight.

 

[Cassity14]

Probably would have been a good move in hindsight.

It’s possible, but boy that would have sent a pretty rotten message about the organization. Big Z was solid yet unspectacular for quite some time and ended up playing a part in LeBron coming back home. Boozer did always tend to fade in the postseason when he had to match up with the premier players at his position.

 

[Huber.]

Exactly. The Cavs were boned no matter what because of the CBA rules at the time. It’s not as though there was a world in which Boozer would have stayed with the Cavs past the 2004-05 season (absent a hometown discount or him shredding a knee or whatever).

How would they not of had cap space in 2005-2006? They ended up signing Larry Hughes for more per year.

 

[AllforOne]

How would they not of had cap space in 2005-2006? They ended up signing Larry Hughes for more per year.

That’s a good question. It’s definitely possible that I’m mis-remembering the salary rules from that time. They had Z’s contract expiring, which may have had a cap hold until he re-signed, but that would have affected their ability to sign Hughes (and Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones) as well, so that’s not the answer.

Damn you for bringing up facts that go against my argument…

 

[Benway]

Son Cameron looking tough.

 

[BiGZD]

He lied to a blind man.

Dude was a POS wtf do you lie straight into the face to a blind man offering you millions of dollars. Happy that loser won exactly as many NBA championships I have.

 

[BigZ94]

His head is such an odd shape

 

[Douglar]

How would they not of had cap space in 2005-2006? They ended up signing Larry Hughes for more per year.

Boozer’s salary was so low that his free agent amount would have only counted about $3mil against the salary cap, which was less that Drew Gooden’s salary, who the cavs traded for as a replacement. So the cavs could have signed the same free agents with cap space in 2005 while keeping boozers bird rights, and then gone over the salary cap to sign Boozer as a restricted free agent afterwards.