Carlos Boozer will leave us next off-season no matter what he says, get used to the idea now. He’s Kurt Russell in Used Cars. He’s Eddie Haskell when Beaver’s mom walks into the room, just ask the Cavs. He’s a bad actor who thinks fans are dumb and that we’re all buying his act. Sunday morning in the NBA notes section of the Boston Globe Boozer is quoted as saying,


“I live in Miami during the offseason. Obviously, they have a huge hole at power forward. I’m very good friends with [Heat owner] Micky Arison. So, the rumors are going to fly. We’ll worry about those [rumors] later. I don’t concern myself with rumors, rumors of being traded.”


That’s a far cry from last week’s quotes from Booze in the local papers where he said about returning to the Jazz in a cryptic tone:
“ “We’ve been talking about our combination . . . for two years already, so we already have our thing lined up.”
Asked what “our thing” would be, Boozer winked and said, “You guys have to wait and see.”


Suggestive, but like any good politician who doesn’t want to be burned by being held to past quotes, Boozer doesn’t say anything incriminating. You see Carlos Boozer has been through this before and has learned a thing or two about being caught in lies. Why would Boozer, just a week after making Jazz fans feel good, let slip to a Miami reporter about his good freindship with the Heat owner to send Utah fans back wondering what he thinks about staying or going? Just look back at his recent past.


DATELINE CLEVELAND JULY 2004:


Carlos Boozer July 1, 2004: “I want to be in Cleveland. I like it here. I want to be with the Cavaliers,” he said. “Good things are happening. My wife and I are very, very happy here.”Keep this quote in your back pocket over the next year when you want to tell yourself he really wants to be in Utah.


LeBron James July 2004: “It’s a hell of a blow,” James said of Boozer’s move to Utah. “Anybody knows that. My feeling was that Booze was going to be around.”


That’s what Deron Williams thinks now. That’s what Jazz fans want to believe, that’s what LeBron James, the games best all-around player thought in 2004. If Booze will leave The King, he’ll leave D-Will. Keep this quote in mind when he lets it slip that he wouldn’t ever leave the “Best up and coming point guard in the NBA.”


Here is a recap of the story that made everyone in the NBA question Boozer’s truth telling abilities and integrity after looking a blind man in the eye and saying, “trust me” when telling the Cavs that if he let him out of the last year of his deal in Cleveland that he would resign with the team:


The Cavaliers had an option year remaining on Boozer’s contract at the bargain-basement price of $700,000. But Boozer averaged 15.5 points and 11.4 rebounds. Acknowledging he was worth way more than that, Cavs general manager Jim Paxson supposedly shook hands with Boozer on a deal in which the team would forgo the option and let Boozer become a restricted free agent. In exchange, Boozer would sign with Cleveland for $41 million over six years.
Shortly afterward, however, the Jazz stepped in with an offer worth $27 million more, one the Cavs couldn’t afford to match. Boozer accepted that deal and the debate began: Did Paxson get bamboozled, and if so, was he at fault for taking the player’s word? Did Boozer act with malice by breaking his promise? And was there a promise made to begin with?


“There was no commitment, no handshake,” Boozer insisted this week, stating correctly that it would have been illegal under the collective bargaining agreement. “I’m a man of my word, and the only commitment I gave was to Utah, and I kept that commitment."It disappoints me the way some people have reacted to the situation, because I pride myself on my integrity and my honor,” Boozer said. “I want people to perceive me as a man of my word and a man of great integrity.”


Here’s the most interesting part of the Boozer story and reveals who was telling the truth..........


SFX, the company that represented Boozer through the Cavs ordeal, fired him. A move that hadn’t been done before and not since and spoke to the bad public relations it must have received in the wake of the contract. The agent who worked out the deal, Rob Pelinka, resigned from the company, as well. SFX didn’t take a dime from the new $68 million dollar deal Utah gave Boozer. They were entitled to nearly $3 million but walked away from Booze, FIRED THE PLAYER because they were so disgusted with him for telling the Cavs one thing and running off to Utah. One Cleveland paper even said that Booze wouldn’t return Duke head coach K’s calls during the ordeal because he knew he would tell him that what he was doing was wrong.


Cavs owner Gordon Gund took an ad out in a Cleveland newspaper after the botched negotiations and said this on July 14, 2004:


“Both Carlos and his wife responded that they wanted financial security now and therefore were anxious to pursue the second option of entering into a long term contract with us as soon as possible and that they would live with any consequences from this decision.Carlos’ agent then said he wanted to go to another room to talk with his client and his wife alone which they did. When they returned, his agent said he had again explained everything to them so that they understood everything involved and said that their thinking had not changed. Jim Paxson then told him, “We’d like to begin, as soon as permissible, to negotiate an agreement that we can sign on July 14th.” Carlos responded, “That’s exactly what I want. I want to get this done as quickly as we can.” Over time Carlos had told Jim and me repeatedly, “If you show respect for me, I will show respect for you.” So, in the June 30 meeting, I reminded him of that and said, “We are all counting on what you said in earlier meetings and again today.” He responded, “That’s right and you can trust me on that.” I asked if we could all trust each other? Carlos, his wife and agent each responded “Yes.” At that point, believing so strongly in Carlos, I said we would not pick up his option. Our intent, as soon as we could do so, was to re-do his contract. The quotes you saw in the media July 1 about his desire to remain here were entirely consistent with what he told us.
In the final analysis, I decided to trust Carlos and show him the respect he asked for. He did not show that trust and respect in return. That’s what happened. I wanted you to hear it directly from me. The decision was mine and I take full responsibility.


Carlos Boozer to Cavs owner Gordon Gund July 2004: “If you show respect for me, I will show respect for you.”


Bob Finnan Akron Beacon-Journal July 11, 2004: (I did some not too fancy editing to show you what this quote will look like in Gordon Monson’s article on July 11, 2009) “If there was one player whose word seemed to mean something on the Cavaliers’ (Jazz) team, it was the well-spoken Duke product. He fooled everyone he came in contact with. Everyone thought he was honorable and had such high character. But now, you see that his word doesn’t mean spit. Enjoy yourself in Salt Lake City, (Miami) Carlos.”


This guy put into words four years ago how I view Boozer now, which means he hasn’t learned a thing about his ordeal in Cleveland. In the media we interview Carlos hundreds of times per year. I’ve been doing this 12+ years and have interviewed thousands of athletes so I’ll take the liberty of calling myself an expert when it comes to reading what these guys are saying and who can be trusted on what they say and who cannot. Carlos Boozer cannot be trusted and it doesn’t have to do with what happened in Cleveland. When Deron Williams talks to the media, you may not like the answers, but they’ll be truthful as they can be. Sometimes a player won’t tell the full turth for varying reasons. I trust Williams as much as I can. Boozer has a non-sincere glow about him. He’s Eddie Haskell when Beaver’s mom shows up in the room. He’s the “That’s the Ticket” guy portrayed by Jon Lovitz. I want to be in Utah for the rest of my life....yeah, yeah....That’s the Ticket!


Aaron Goodwin, LeBron James agent, July 2004: “LeBron’s disappointed, It’s unfortunate, because Carlos gave them his word, and the Cavaliers gave him their trust. They were just trying to do something good for the team.”


Think what you want, believe the used car salesman, but know this: When she cheats on you once, shame on her. When she cheats on you twice, shame on you. Shame on us already for believing anything he says regarding this situation. His integrity is as high as I can jump and his word can be trusted as far as I can throw Hans. Just trying to get you prepared with a quick history lesson. These quotes will be the same ones we’ll all recite a year from now though the names and teams will be changed to protect the suckers.