PLOTSKY'S POSITION: Boozer/Bargnani

Dan P

Not my profile pic, but
pretty darn close
resemblance
(photo courtesy of Felipe M)

Dan is a Chicago Bulls' fan and chimes in on the potential trade of Carlos Boozer to Toronto.

The NBA trade deadline approaches and yet again we are left to ponder which teams will be aggressive both in basketball and financial terms.  We have already witnessed one trade rumor that has left this writer in particular befuddled and angry.  

Which is why I would like to start with a trade rumor I have dubbed "Give me a bag of balls, but only if they have air in them."  This of course is the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors’ trade rumor involving players Carlos Boozer for Andrea Bargnani that leaked to the public last week and completely angered Bulls’ nation.  

Look, I won't be objective here. I simply cannot!  I have tried for the last two years to think of every conceivable way to deal Carlos Boozer and live the Kevin Love pipe dream.  Despite his vastly improved play this year, it still isn't enough to warrant a free pass when he looks like “Carlos Loozer” on the court with Derrick Rose.  

Boozer is an undersized, flat-footed defender who rebounds better than his size would indicate and he flourishes in a pick and pop offense or Iso, post-ups from 10 feet.  And I do mean pick and pop as I have yet to see Carlos roll effectively and elevate to create good layups.  

I have provided a small excerpt from 82games.com of a few stats that are becoming more commonplace for NBA teams to look at.  This, by the way, is this year's stats for Boozer:

2012-13 On Court / Off Court stats for Carlos Boozer

Many stats are shown on a 'per 48-minute' basis

Stat		ON Court		OFF Court		Net
Minutes		1449		970		59%
Offense: Pts per 100 Poss.		103.0		108.5		-5.5
Defense: Pts per 100 Poss.		105.6		98.5		+7.0
Net Points per 100 Possessions		-2.6		+10.0		-12.6
Offensive Rebounding	31.9%		35.1%		-3.3%
Defensive Rebounding	70.2%		68.9%		+1.2%
Total Rebounding	51.0%		52.0%		-1.0%

It's mind-boggling how the Bulls are a better team defensively AND offensively without Carlos on the floor and although he is a positive on the defensive rebounding side, he's flat out terrible on the offensive glass. Defensive and offensive rebounding are all about effort.  Don't believe me?  

(See 1:20 mark of video as Rodman outworks Charles Barkley--Ed)

And just because I couldn't get enough, here’s more Dennis Rodman. 

So what's the point?  I want Boozer gone because the Bulls are most likely maxed out and have become like the older-looking San Antonio Spurs (but without any championships to show for it—Ed).  They are an extremely hard-working regular season team that just doesn't have an extra gear when it comes time for the playoffs.  Rose was supposed to provide that missing gear, but even that is in limbo as we go forward.  

But Andrea Bargnani?  This trade makes no sense to me at all since the team would only shed $3 million this year, but essentially will still be tied up in terms of the salary cap for the next few years as Bargnani has 3 years left on his deal.  This all stems from how cheap Jerry Reinsdorf is when it comes to the Bulls (currently, the Bulls have the 5^th highest payroll in the NBA—Ed).  The Bulls have NEVER-- let that sink in-- never paid the luxury tax in team history.  As the 2nd or 3rd largest market in the NBA (depending on who you ask) (Chicago ranks 3^rd in terms of population—Ed) it seems almost impossible that Jerry didn't owe David Stern a single dollar at the end of any season.  

Three thoughts occurred to me simultaneously:

• The Bulls really want to amnesty Boozer (not really, but it wouldn’t surprise us at this point—Ed)
• The Bulls are on pace to pay the luxury tax this year for the first time ever and Jerry really will do anything, short of fan mutiny, not to pay it
• The only thing that irritates Jerry more than paying the luxury tax is paying Boozer to play for another team if/when they amnesty him.  (Bulls are still liable to pay the contract even when it doesn't count against the cap).

These three statements are paradoxical in nature as the truth of one statement violates another.  The only path to basketball nirvana is to get a fair trade of talent for him…

…Oh, right, that's impossible because everyone knows the Bulls are only interested in saving money, hence Andrea Bargnani.  

Excuse me while I go searching for a wall to bang my head on…

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