Report: Bulls Will Look To Trade Boozer Before Considering Amnesty
(CBS) In an effort to avoid paying his $16.8 million salary next season, the Bulls will look first to trade forward Carlos Boozer before considering using the amnesty clause on him, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported.
From the ESPN.com report:
You continue to hear rumbles that Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is adamantly against the idea of setting Boozer free via amnesty, even though the 32-year-old is finally poised to enter the final year of his contract, valued in 2014-15 at $16.8 million.
Sources briefed on Chicago's thinking say the Bulls are going to do everything they can to try to find a trading partner for Boozer before seriously considering the amnesty option.
If the Bulls find a trade partner who values Boozer, they won't have to pay his 2014-'15 salary. If they use the amnesty provision on him, they will still have to pay him, it just won't count against the team's salary cap. Shedding Boozer's cap hit is a must if the Bulls have any hope of acquiring Carmelo Anthony.
The NBA's amnesty window this summer runs from July 10-16, ESPN.com reported.
Boozer averaged 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds this season on 45.6 percent shooting, but he was a lightning rod for criticism, as his defense was typically unsteady. Boozer also lost the trust of coach Tom Thibodeau, who for much of the season only used Boozer in the first and third quarters of games -- a fact that irked Boozer, who expressed publicly his desire to close out games.
