So that Pau-Gasol-to-Chicago rumor before the dealing fell apart pretty quick because, to be honest, the idea of anyone saying “Heck yeah, we want Carlos Boozer!” right now is like the joke in a trailer for one of those teen romcoms. You know it’s coming and though it is technically humorous, it’s not actually funny. But ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reported Friday that the Bulls were so serious about it, they were willing to give the most serious commitment their organization can. It was willing to go into the luxury tax.
Gasp!
From ESPN.com:Chicago’s talks with the Los Angeles Lakers regarding Pau Gasol before the trade deadline never got too far, largely because the Lakers had no interest in taking back Carlos Boozer ... and because the Bulls weren’t about to find a third team willing to join the talks to absorb the three years and $47 million remaining on Boozer’s deal to help Chicago get the Spaniard.
File this away, though.
Sources with knowledge of Chicago’s thinking told ESPN.com that Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was prepared last week to go into the luxury tax if necessary if a legit trade scenario involving Gasol had materialized.
via Weekend Dime -- Scouts on Lakers, Knicks and more - ESPN.For those that don’t know, this is a really big deal. Despite consistently being one of the most profitable teams as the owner of Jordan’s former and Rose’s current club in a large market, Reinsdorf basically acts like paying the tax is pulling teeth. So maybe, if things went really well, he’d consider paying the tax if he were to get one of the top five big men in the NBA. That’s just swell. Reinsdorf has been pushing the “maybe I’ll pay the tax!” line for a while. This is from November:
Chicago Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf on Wednesday reiterated through a team spokesman that he would give strong consideration to incurring the luxury tax if the player acquisition gave the team a reasonable chance to win a championship.
That answer is similar in sentiment to Reinsdorf’s response on the subject from a 2009 interview. However, with a more punitive luxury tax poised to take effect in 2013-14 of the pending 10-year collective bargaining agreement, as well as increased revenue sharing, the question applied anew.
via Reinsdorf: Luxury tax won’t preclude Bulls’ bid for key addition - Chicago Tribune.
This actually may show more about the Bulls’ realization regarding Boozer than anything. With Rose’s extension kicking into high gear next season and with the luxury tax rates set to raise to painful levels in two seasons, the Bulls are probably starting to understand that giving Boozer his huge deal may have been, oh, what’s the word, a complete and total disaster.
Which is a bit of an exaggeration. Look, Tom Thibodeau has found a way to make Boozer a competent member of an elite defense. Boozer’s ability to hit the mid-range jumper is something the Bulls have needed for years and that Joakim Noah will probably never have consistently. Is he overpaid? Sure. But in a few years, Kobe Bryant will be, too. These are pretty standard problems. At least Reinsdorf is saying that if the team is good enough and worthy of the investment he’ll make it, even if that belies the obscene amount of money he makes off the team anyway.
And if you think no one will take Boozer, I would ask that you look around the league and witness the kind of deals which have been moved over the past three seasons. There’s always a sucker out there somewhere.