Carlos Boozer to the Bulls?

Despite the fact that these Carlos Boozer to the Bulls rumors have been questioned by two reputable sources - Sam Smith's Bulls.com blog and BobbyStompy's brand new Twitter account (follow that) - I do think it's going to happen. Eventually. In some form.

I believe Smith when he says there haven't been any substantive talks between the teams yet. Trades as large as this one - involving three teams and a boarderline superstar - take time to complete. After going through this so many times the last few years, we should know that by now. But, again, I could definitely see Boozer ending up in Chicago next season. It just seems to make a lot of sense.

No, Boozer isn't ideal. I'd rather have Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire. But the chance to get Bosh may have disintegrated when Hedo Turkoglu's wife decided she preferred Toronto to Portland. And a deal for Stoudemire would likely have to include Joakim Noah. So while Carlos Boozer isn't perfect, he is something. Something tall (enough) and something that can score. Basically, Boozer is exactly the sort of player the Bulls have needed for so long.

If he's on the court, that is. The Bulls know all about injury prone Duke products, and Boozer would be another one. Since signing with the Jazz in 2004, Boozer could have played a possible 410 regular season games. He ended up only playing 276 of them. Karma?


So, yeah, Carlos Boozer has flaws. But I think he's worth the risk. And at some point, the Bulls have to take one, right?

I'm sick of writing posts like this. Of course Stompy doesn't think this trade is going to happen...it never does! KG, Gasol, Kobe, Amare, yeah, we've been through this before as Bulls fans. But, eventually, the Bulls have to do something. They've had the same achilles heel the last four seasons. It's time to fix it.

The deal reported yesterday had Boozer coming to Chicago, Kirk Hinrich going to Portland, and Tyrus Thomas to Utah. It seems like a lot to give up, but is it really?

Now that Gordon is gone, the Bulls are down to six guys that can actually play. Rose, Deng, Salmons, Noah, Tyrus, and Kirk. That's it. You hope to get something from James Johnson and Taj Gibson, but who knows. For a team that entered last season with 'depth' atop the team strengths column, the Bulls are pretty thin right now. To lose two of those guys would be a blow, to be sure.

The trade isn't really about next season, though. The Bulls aren't winning anything next year with five players. As Matt has been pounding into everyone's heads over at Blog-a-Bull, the Bulls sort of decided to sacrifice 2009-2010 when they let Gordon walk for nothing. It's about the future, and a deal for Boozer gives the Bulls some options, some flexibility.

Here's Hinrich's salary going forward. It's a lot of money for a reserve guard who's much more of a point than a two. And with Rose set to play 40 minutes a night for the next 10 years, the Bulls can find a better, cheaper fit than Hinrich. Even though I've always liked Kirk, dumping his salary would be huge.

And Tyrus....I still love him, but the Bulls don't even think he's an NBA player. Would they even pickup that $6.2 million option after this season? I'm not so sure they would. So you may as well get something for him instead of letting another guy walk for no compensation.

We've seen this movie before, but I think Carlos Boozer ends up in Chicago. Just don't expect it to happen today.