|
djsunyc
Posts: 44929
Alba Posts: 42
Joined: 1/16/2004
Member: #536
|
here's a better account of what happened.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=knight-boozertoryrevolvearoundiu&prov=knight&type=lgns
Boozer $tory revolve$ around 1 i$$ue
By Brian Windhorst, Beacon Journal staff writer
CLEVELAND - On a sunny afternoon on June 30, Carlos Boozer and his party walked away from a meeting at Gund Arena believing he was going to be a Cleveland Cavalier for years to come.
On the sixth floor of the arena's executive offices, team owner Gordon Gund and general manager Jim Paxson believed they were on the verge of making a deal that would satisfy everyone, a rarity in today's NBA.
But somewhere between the goodwill of that day and last Thursday morning's phone call from Boozer's agent Rob Pelinka to Paxson, those good feelings went awry. Now Boozer seems to be headed to the Utah Jazz for lots more money, and even if the Cavaliers match the $68 million offer, they still appear to have made a costly, ill-advised decision.
Here is the story of how Boozer's contract situation turned into a national circus based on interviews with people inside and outside the Cavaliers organization, NBA general managers and players, agents and news media. Boozer and wife CeCe, reached by e-mail, declined to comment, and Pelinka did not return a telephone message Saturday.
The story began last summer after Boozer's very successful rookie season. He rose from second-round draft pick status and the end of coach John Lucas' bench to average 10 points and 7.5 rebounds and was named to the NBA's All-Rookie Team. The Cavaliers and Boozer were excited about his future.
Boozer, however, was not pleased with his contract. A year earlier, in August of 2002, after being impressed with him in summer league, the Cavaliers got Pelinka and Boozer to agree to a two-year guaranteed contract with an option for a third year. This was a rare deal for a second-round pick. Such players seldom receive long-term contracts but Boozer was given $989,000 over the first two years, including a $75,000 bonus for inserting a third-year option. In the third year, Boozer's salary would be $695,000 for the 2004-05 season.
Then, with Boozer's stock on the rise and the fact that a former second-round pick named Gilbert Arenas had just received a $65 million deal after his second season, Boozer's contract suddenly didn't seem so appealing.
Boozer's agent is employed by the sports management group SFX, founded by Arn Tellem. Pelinka asked last summer if the Cavaliers would consider what it would take to let Boozer out of the contract a year early.
During the 2003-04 season, in which Boozer averaged 15.5 points and 11.4 rebounds and finished second in the voting for the NBA's Most Improved Player Award, Boozer and his agent took their contract pleas public to several newspaper reporters.
In late April, after Boozer completed his breakout season, Pelinka brought it back to the Cavaliers' attention and both sides agreed to consider it in June. The parties met twice, once before the NBA's Pre-Draft Camp and once June 30.
Meeting time
On June 30, the principals gathered around a Fortune 500-style boardroom table at Gund Arena. Pelinka had flown in from Los Angeles. He sat on one side with Carlos and CeCe, a Duke graduate who has experience working for sports management giant IMG. Owner Gordon Gund flew in from his offices in Princeton, N.J., on his private jet. He joined Paxson and members of his staff on the other side of the table.
The meeting opened with Gund telling Boozer how valuable he was to the Cavaliers' franchise and their fan base. Gund was perhaps closer to Boozer than any other Cavaliers player. To Gund, players like Boozer and center Zydrunas Ilgauskas represented the transition the organization was trying to make. Each time Gund visited the Cavaliers during the season, either in Cleveland or at road games in Boston, New Jersey, New York or Philadelphia, he spent time talking with Boozer.
Paxson informed Pelinka and the Boozers that the Cavaliers were considering letting Boozer out of the option year. That decision had to be finalized by midnight that evening. Paxson explained to them that after losing Jason Kapono in the recent expansion draft and making a trade to acquire Sasha Pavlovic, the team's payroll would be $43,434,000 next season. That would put the Cavaliers within $3 million of the salary cap, expected to be announced next week.
Paxson said that if the Cavaliers allowed Boozer to become a free agent, the only thing the team could do was offer him something referred to as the maximum "Early Bird" contract. That would be a deal starting at $5 million that would increase 12.5 percent each year for six years, making it worth around $40 million. This was not a contract offer to Boozer, just an explanation of what the Cavaliers' salary cap constraint would be.
Paxson told Boozer that the team would not make any trades or other player moves to try and get drastically under the salary cap to attempt to offer more.
And, as a part of the goodwill gesture of not picking up the option, Boozer and Pelinka would have to calm the fan base by making public statements July 1 of his intention to return to the Cavaliers.
They would not be saying they had agreed to a deal, because that would be in violation of NBA rules because it came before July 1.
Pelinka had brought a copy of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement and referred to the contract rules and read from it several times.
The Cavaliers made it clear to Boozer that as many as seven other NBA teams could offer him more money and the team was taking a risk. Gund told Boozer he didn't want him to commit to a contract that he would regret signing a few years down the road.
The Cavaliers reminded him that by picking up the $695,000 option, the team would be able to sign him to a contract larger than the $40 million deal after the 2004-05 season because they would not be under NBA salary cap restraints.
But Carlos and CeCe, who only a few days earlier were looking at expensive houses in the affluent eastern Cleveland suburb of Bratenahl, said they wanted security now. They understood there was a limit, due to the league's salary cap rules, on what the Cavaliers could offer, but they wanted to remain in Cleveland.
Then Boozer and Gund spoke to each other. As they talked, they appeared to come to a trust they both thought would eventually lead to a deal.
Caucus time
At that time, the parties broke and had separate discussions. It was a tense 10-minute period that might be remembered as one of the most crucial moments in Cavaliers history that didn't take place on a basketball court.
Gund asked Paxson if he thought the Cavaliers could trust Boozer. Paxson pointed out that Pelinka was present when the Boozers said they knew it was possible to get a larger offer than the Cavaliers could put on the table after July 1 -- but they still preferred to stay in Cleveland. At that time, Paxson and Gund agreed to allow Boozer to become a restricted free agent if that was what he wanted.
The Boozers and Pelinka came back into the room and said they indeed wanted to be let out of the contract. They knew they could not make a deal on that day, but Pelinka said he was sure he could work out a deal with Paxson after July 1. Paxson promptly left the room and went to his office, where he had prepared a "qualifying offer," which is part of the procedure in making a player a restricted free agent. Under NBA rules, all qualifying offers have to be issued before July 1.
The meeting then broke up, midnight passed, and Carlos Boozer was no longer a Cavalier.
Crunch time
On July 1, the Cavaliers stunned the NBA by revealing they had not picked up Boozer's option. Boozer and Pelinka granted interviews to the Associated Press stating their preference to re-sign with the Cavaliers. But, in retrospect, they did not
[Edited by - djsunyc on 07/12/2004 09:40:46]
|
7/11/2004 8:59 PM
