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So, as we know, the Jazz are in a bit of a bind financially. With no one opting out, and the team having interest in bringing Millsap back (if not, they're doing a good job of faking the interest), there needs to be some moves if the team wants to avoid the luxury tax. That seems unlikely... it's not going to be very easy to just dump $10 million. Not many teams have the cash to help you out. So the alternative might be to just trade Booze to help the team (while going over the luxury tax limit)... find a player that can help you elsewhere while being able to provide 'Sap the certainty that he can start (enough to push him to sign a long term deal with the team?). Siler looked at some teams that could have interest, and I decided I'd go through and just look at the ideas he mentions (and others?) just a bit deeper. Each one will be a separate post... simply that I don't overwhelm with a "too long" post.
Siler says...
Detroit, although Richard Hamilton has four years left on his contract (making $12.5 million in those last three years) and will turn 32 in February. Hamilton appears to be the best fit for the Jazz as he would bring them a shooter and a veteran with playoff experience. What his addition would mean for Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko is an open question?
Obviously, the first thing to see is that Rip has 4 years left on the contract. That is huge. Especially given that the Jazz already have Deron & AK locked up for a while, and will probably sign Brewer to an extension some point before the start of the season (if not, he'll be an RFA after the season... much like 'Sap this off-season). That's 3 well-paid guards/wings already, and adding Rip will just cause problems similar to what they're in right now a couple years down the road.
Another thing of note... many Jazz fans out there would prefer Tayshaun Prince. He only has 2 years left on his deal, and is quite a bit cheaper than Rip. Now, I don't know how the front office feels about this (and it's more likely the Pistons would be willing to deal Rip after they sign Ben Gordon), but there are ups and downs. The contract & age thing is in Prince's favor. Prince seems to be a bit like AK... a tall, lanky 3 that is above average defensively (though AK has the better stats in blocks & steals). Prince is a better 3-point percentage than Rip, and averages more rebounds/game. Rip is a better FT shooter, and averages more assists & points. The steals are about equal, and Tayshaun gets more blocks. The question is, if you're getting another AK... though a better shooter and a bit worse defensively... and you already have the original AK, do you say OK? (Health-wise... Prince has played 82 games each of the last 5 seasons, and at least 80 the last 6... the last time Rip played 80+ games was in 2005-06.) So truthfully, if it came down to one or the either... I have no idea who I'd pick.
But lets stick with Siler's idea... Richard Hamilton. The trade works straight up Booze for Rip, or you could try to get Detroit to toss in a small contract (like that of Arron Afflalo's) as well. Either way, it leaves the Jazz short a big (leading to the resigning of 'Sap?) and gives them another big. Afflalo's name you might recognize... the Jazz passed on him when drafting Morris Almond. I don't know if the Jazz need another 2-guard (especially if they add Rip). I'm not quite sure why Detroit would want Booze after signing Villanueva, but who knows? They could use another 'big', though Booze isn't really all that big.
The loss of a healthy Booze is huge for the Jazz. I don't think 'Sap will be able to make it up offensively, though maybe his presence defensively helps off-set that a little bit (provided he can avoid foul trouble). Booze isn't exactly a 20-10 player, though he's reached 20-10 status both times he's played 70+ games for the Jazz. Career-wise, he's 16-10... 'Sap last year was 13-8. Even assuming a step forward and a full time starting gig, you can't expect 7+ points more/game, can you? The Jazz might also be able to play AK at the 4 a bit, and could put Okur there at times as well, with The Koof, Fesenko & potentially Suton all being bigs that can pitch in at the 4 or the 5. While there might be questions about the offensive contributions of that crew, the defense will probably be better than what the Jazz got last year from Booze (& Flop).
Adding Rip brings a different option on offense to off-set the loss of Boozer. He's been a scorer for a while, and it would seem that he would thrive in a system that depends so much on players moving without the ball (which he does really well). His catch-and-shoot jumper is solid (kinda like Matt Harpring's attempts, except that Rip is actually good). That said, his 3-point shot isn't exactly great, so spreading the floor to let someone operate down low will be a bit harder... especially if he's starting alongside Ronnie Brewer. You'd have to hope that his mid-range game doesn't falter... it'd be the only way to keep defenses from doubling whoever gets the ball down low. One guarantee would be that he gets good minutes, which could affect Brewer, AK, CJ, Korver & Harpring. Would the Jazz be willing to start Brewer/Rip at the wings? Or would the prefer a better shooter (Korver) with Rip? I don't think Rip would come off of the bench (I don't think it worked so well last season); would the Jazz be willing to move Brewer to the bench?
Like Siler mentions, he has a lot of playoff experience, though I'm not sure how much that'll help a team that is out-matched by a much taller Lakers team (or something like that). Pretty much, you'd be trading 1 season of Boozer for 4 seasons of Rip (barring a trade). Do the Jazz think he'll be similarly effective when he's 35/36? Will it help anything? They'll still be over the luxury tax limit, and will face the possibility of going over it again the following season as well. And will he be any sort of presence defensively? Brewer & Rip would be asked to shut down the wing duos the Jazz face... Kobe/Artest, Roy/Outlaw, Harden/Durant, Smith/Anthony, Ginobili/Jefferson, Mayo/Gay, etc... not an easy task by any means.
So, what do you think. If you're offered Rip for Booze, do you take it?
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I agree. I would rather have Tayshaun Prince. I actually think Tayshaun is a better defender than AK as well as being a much better shooter.
But I think many Jazz fans get a little, well, fanatical, at times like these. I think many of them want change for change sakes. And that would be a bad idea. I don't think that trading Boozer for Hamilton would be a bad idea, but I also think there are many more better options.
One thing that most people are not talking about is that Detroit doesn't really need Boozer anymore. They have Charlie Villanueva and Fabricio Oberto and are trying very hard to re-sign Antonio McDyess. They don't really need Boozer at all. There are much better deals out there.