What to do with Carlos Boozer? That is a question that is no doubt on the mind of KOC and Greg Miller every second of their waking existence (and it probably haunts their dreams to). Everyone knows the awkward situation that is facing Jazz management right now, and I for one am not at all envious of it (although for a slice of their paychecks I would be happy to step in and make this tough decision).

The Jazz decided to match Portland’s offer and commit long-term to Paul “Man-sap” Millsap, a move that most of us can agree upon was the absolute right decision. Paul has the work ethic of a machine (almost Karl Malone-esque), and will consistently make himself better because of it, just as Malone did. He isn’t great yet, but he is really good, and he is still really young.

 The problem is that out of necessity, the decision to match Portland’s offer and commit to Millsap long-term was decidedly pre-mature. The Jazz already have an all-star power forward in Carlos Boozer and Boozer is basically (all things considered) un-tradable at this point. For one, Carlos has never recovered from his injury from last season enough to justify that he will return to his all-star form. He missed enough of the season last year, that when he did return, his presence messed with the team’s chemistry more than he helped them to win ball games. Part of that probably had to do with the distraction his pending free-agency and overall commitment to the organization caused, and part of it had to do with the emergence of Paul Millsap as a reliable low-post presence.

We all know the story of what happened next: Boozer decided that “economically” his best move would be to stay put, the Jazz matched Portland and committed more money than most of us will ever see to their back-up PF, Boozer subsequently lobbied for a trade, KOC failed to make a deal because he didn’t want to trade him for “a can of tuna” (the right move in my mind), and, when training camp started, everyone of us felt like we had been through a summer-long episode of All my Children. So here we are; through all that drama we have essentially the same team on the floor. That can’t be all that bad, right? I mean this is the same team that many experts had picked to upset the Lakers last year and take the west. Weren’t injuries the biggest factor in their demise last year? The answer to that question is yes, but now, at this point in time, the dynamic has also significantly changed, and I don’t know if there is any going back.

The Jazz have put themselves in a state of limbo, for better or worse. Paul Millsap is the future, although he hasn’t yet proven that he can be a go-to option in the clutch. Carlos Boozer is the past, and that’s in large part because of his own actions. He was worshipped when he came to Utah, and praised for his desire to be here, but his comments and distant attitude have disenfranchised Utah’s fan base to the point where many are willing to take a step backward in the progression of this team just to have him gone. But regardless of how the fans feel, Carlos and Paul are still here, and because of it, neither one has shown so far that they can step forward this season, and establish their role on this team as a leader. To be fair, it is unfair to Paul and it is unfair to Carlos to keep both in the current situation.

Boozer doesn’t look like his old self, and it probably has something to do with all the pressure he is feeling. Granted he brought it upon himself, but it is still a huge problem for the team. His own teams’ fans boo him when he touches the ball in the post. He is ridiculed in the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News nearly every day. To put it frankly, he isn’t a popular guy in Utah. I for one don’t agree with all of the criticism Jazz fans and sports writers are laying on him, because I don’t think it is helping at all to solve the problem. For one, I think it is negatively effecting his game, and that does nothing but hurt the Jazz. How is he supposed to play well when his own fans boo him in his own arena? And if Carlos Boozer doesn’t play well, not only do the Jazz not win, but it also decreases the chances of him being traded this season. Why would the Jazz trade him for spare parts when they can just wait until next season to have his contract come off the books and control their own destiny? Making a garbage trade won’t do that. Carlos needs to play well for the franchise to progress one way or the other, but it seems some of us want him to fail so badly that it doesn’t even matter if it’s at the expense of the team.

I don’t know what Kevin and Greg are going to decide to do, but one thing is for sure, something needs to be done. If Millsap is your future then just like when Karl Malone was young, he needs to get his chance. The problem is the Adrian Dantley in this case (Boozer) isn’t tradable at this point, and as a fan base I think we need to be pulling for him to figure his game out soon so all of us can just move on.

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