Utah Jazz Talk

When asked on the radio whether he thought a Carlos Boozer for Richard Hamilton trade would benefit the Jazz, Ron Boone dismissed it out of hand.

He thought that the size and length of the contract for a 31 year old guard on his way down was way too expensive, and that Boozer was far too good to trade him for Rip.

Of course, this is the Ron Boone that has yet to see a foul from the team which year in and year out leads the leagues in fouls. This is the same Ron Boone that was the only sportswriter to pick Deron Williams over Chris Paul for Rookie of the Year.

I think you have to take this comment with a grain of salt.

Booner has got to be one of the biggest homers that there is.

If the roles were reversed, he would be telling Utah that there is no way that Carlos Boozer would be worth trading a great shooter like Rip Hamilton for.

At the risk of repeating my recent article, I would have to ask Ron Boone how many games he thinks we can expect out of Boozer this coming year.

Lest he forget, I would remind him that for the Jazz, Boozer has played 51, 33, 74, 81, and 37 games. He has had a couple of seasons for the Utah Jazz where he played less than 1200 minutes for the season. (Last year, even CJ Miles played more minutes than Boozer did.)

Richard Hamilton, for his career, has never played less than 63 games (the 63 came when he played for the Wizards). That includes the year when he had his nose broken. Richard Hamilton has never played less than 1200 minutes per season for his whole career, including his rookie season.

Also lest he forget, I would remind Ron that there is not a great chance that Boozer will be back next year with all of the teams clearing cap-room so as to have money next season when he becomes a free agent. Someone is bound to have enough money to throw at Boozer next year, even if nobody had any real money this year. Would he rather try to overpay in free agency than have a great shooter like Rip Hamilton taking shots and free throws for the Utah Jazz?

I’m not necessarily saying that a straight up swap for Richard Hamilton is the best move that the Jazz can make considering that Rip has played almost 25,000 minutes over his career. (I just added them up.)

Most Jazz fans dislike Boozer so much that anything remotely resembling getting back something for Boozer is welcomed with open arms. I think that is just as dangerous as taking the opposite side of the argument.

When everybody else in the Jazz community with a decent amount of Basketball knowledge is seriously considering the pros and cons of the trade rumor, Ron Boone’s quick dismissal of the trade really speaks more to his “homerism” and ignorance than anything else.