SALT LAKE CITY -- In his final moments as a
Cleveland Cavalier, Carlos Boozer maintained he never promised anything about
staying with the team that drafted him.
Boozer's agreement to a $68 million offer from the Utah Jazz and
the subsequent furor it caused in Cleveland, where the Cavs claimed
to have a handshake agreement with the third-year forward, ended
Thursday night.
"There was no commitment. It's unfortunate how the turn of
events went through the media," Boozer said shortly before he
signed a 6-year deal with the Jazz. "I'm not a guy that gives my
word and takes it away. I think I've made that clear."
By signing, Boozer ended a long day. He flew in from Florida,
where he scrimmaged with the U.S. Olympic team earlier Thursday,
met with Jazz officials and signed nearly the moment he could.
Until 12:01 p.m. EDT, Cleveland had the right to match the Jazz's
offer.
Boozer signed, made a brief statement, then was presented with a
No. 5 jersey in the Jazz's new white and blue color scheme.
"It's really exciting. I'm thrilled," he said.
Boozer said he had the support of his former teammates in
leaving for the Jazz and wanted to get the beef with Cleveland's
management over with.
"They've moved forward. I've moved forward and I'm looking
forward to my first season with the Jazz," he said.
Boozer's two years with the Cavs ended rather unpleasantly when
he signed the Jazz's offer sheet on July 14. Cleveland officials
said -- and have maintained -- that there was an agreement when the
Cavs didn't pick up the contract option -- a mere $700,000 for a
player who averaged 15.5 points and 11.4 rebounds in just his
second season -- that he would be staying in Cleveland.
Boozer told The Associated Press on July 1, the day he became a
restricted free agent, that he liked Cleveland and didn't want to
leave the team that drafted him and gave him a chance to play as a
rookie out of Duke.
He also said in the same interview that it was up to the Cavs
and Rob Pelinka, now Boozer's former agent, to work out a deal.
That didn't happen and the Jazz came in with an offer too good for
Boozer to refuse and too big for Cleveland to match.
Utah took a good look at Boozer before the 2002 draft, but
didn't pick him. Instead, the Jazz got Stanford center Curtis
Borchardt through a trade, only to have him miss all but 16 games
of his first two seasons because of various injuries.
The Cavs, meanwhile, selected Boozer in the second round and he
quickly emerged as a promising power forward. And with the addition
of LeBron James last season, Boozer flourished into a player other
teams coveted.