I won't lie, my first few posts have been painful to complete. I didn't end up typing and publishing much, most of my time was spent staring at the computer screen with not much going on upstairs.
Good News, I found something to write about, Carlos Boozer. The Utah Jazz forward defines bad PR, every week without fail I can get onto the Internet do a search and find something he has said that has ticked somebody off. If excelling on the court is something that comes easily to Boozer than inserting foot in mouth comments is a trait that he was inherently born with. People are fairly understanding when you let something slip because you're having a bad day, week, or even month. You get into the years and years of saying self-centered things and you begin to run out of fans.
In July 2004 Boozer signed a 68 million dollar contract with the Jazz. The life changing contract didn't come without controversy. Before signing with the Jazz Boozer played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had terminated the last year of his contract on the impression that Boozer would sign a long term deal with the Cavs in a price range they could afford. Upon release from his contract Boozer signed a big deal with the Jazz that the Cavs couldn't match. Boozer instantly became a villain in Cleveland earning the reputation of "money chaser". Obviously there was a miscommunication of some sort with Booze and the Cavs, a mistake. He could of been having a bad day, so I forgave him.
The "mistakes" continued when arriving in Utah. During the next five seasons Boozer missed about a third of Utah's games due to injury. When it comes to injuries obviously you don't have a lot of control over it. My problem was never with Boozer being hurt it was the way that he handled being injured. When one of your stars gets injured you want him back as soon as possible. Boozer seemed to take his time rehabbing, opted not to travel with the team on road trips, and spent most of his time at his homes in L.A. or Miami to recover. The Jazz play in Utah! Shouldn't he be with his team supporting them in whatever way he can? He oozed this horrible vibe of its all about me.
In Dec 2008 while injured and traveling with the Jazz (a miracle) Boozer told an ESPN reporter that he would opt out of the final year of his contract with the Jazz his reasoning, "No matter what I'm going to get a raise regardless," Boozer said this after missing the previous 15 games with a knee injury. Most of us don't have the luxury of seeking a raise after missing a third of our work days, after that kind of performance we would be lucky to even have a job. This guy was demanding a raise from the 12.7 million . All I have to say about that is WOW, but it could have been a bad week or month I'll cut him some slack.
Opting out didn't quite work out for the big guy in the end. After nobody wanted to pay him more than 12.7 mil for his services Boozer opted to stay with the Jazz for his final season. After opting in Boozer immediately began shopping himself around the league as a great trade option. Boozer held radio interviews with Miami and Chicago sports stations in which he announced that the Jazz had expressed a desire to trade him and both of those towns would be his top destinations. Boozer mentioned a conversation with Jazz owner, Greg Miller in which Miller indicated that Boozer was not in the team's long term plans. Miller denies ever having this conversation with Boozer. Among other things, Boozer cited Miami as a top destination because there is no state income tax in Florida, he wouldn't have to pay taxes on his wimpy salary 12.7 million! To pour a little salt into the wound Boozer mentioned that it was tough economic times for everyone and not paying income tax would greatly benefit him.
Like I said earlier this guy doesn't have to try to say selfish slimy things they just flow out of him naturally. His fairy tale story with Utah isn't over yet. Boozer didn't get traded this summer and is back with the Jazz. On media day when asked about all the dumb things he said Boozer said simply, "Sometimes you put your foot in your mouth."
And sometimes things are understated a little bit.
Sources: sltrib.com/jazz, ESPN.com
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