From Deseret News archives:
Cavaliers seem ready to move on
Open letter to Cavs fans indicates team won't match offer
On the first full day NBA free agents can formalize oral contract agreements in writing, though, it wasn't just signatures on offer sheets that were so encouraging.
Rather, it was what Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund wrote in an open letter addressed to Cavs fans that caught the attention of Jazz brass.
In it, Gund commiserated with supporters of a franchise about to lose Carlos Boozer their blue-collar power forward to a six-year, $68 million deal from Utah.
But it's how the letter's last paragraph began that really hit home: "We currently have no intention of matching Utah's offer to Carlos," Gund wrote.
"It's time to move on," Cavaliers coach Paul Silas told the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Wednesday.
The Cavs, it is quite clear, have no plans whatsoever to match. If they did, the NBA might look into voiding the deal anyway. Still, there were no cheers from Jazz camp. At least not yet. And that is because nothing is set in stone.
The Pistons, too, have indicated they have no plans to match. Again, though, nothing's official until Detroit explicitly informs the league of its intention.
So Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's senior vice president of basketball operations, was not about to crow before his time Wednesday.
"I have zero control over this (now)," he said. "It's like the weather. I don't know what's gonna happen with the weather; I don't know what's gonna happen with this. You just have to sit and wait."
Gund, meanwhile, sat and practically cried.
In his 995-word letter, the Cavs owner tried to explain what went wrong as Boozer let out June 30 from his $695,000 contract for next season with the supposed idea he would orally agree to accept a six-year, $38.6 million deal from Cleveland got away:
"Up until late last week when the trust was broken, I believed in Carlos Boozer, the player, and Carlos Boozer, the person. That is why I tried to do what he said he wanted," Gund wrote. "We tried to do right by him, by the team and by you in trusting in his repeated insistence that if we showed him respect, he would show respect to us."
Boozer accepted Utah's $68 million offer last Thursday.
Comments
- NASA sets Monday shuttle launch 11:53 a.m.
- WVC robberies investigated 11:41 a.m.
- Funeral today for Utah soldier 11:16 a.m.
- Vaccination clinic set in St. George 11:15 a.m.
- $47B in suspect Medicare claims 11:11 a.m.
- 3 dead in Reno helicopter crash 11:02 a.m.
- Galaxy headed to MLS Cup 10:45 a.m.
- Veteran climber dies in Himalayas 10:36 a.m.
- Slovakia beats U.S. 1-0 10:30 a.m.
- Suicide attack kills 11 in Pakistan 10:28 a.m.
- Williams leaves, won't play tonight
- Attack meant to kill apostle
- Short-handed Jazz fly past Sixers
- Can BYU root for (ick) Utah Utes?
- Man killed during 3rd I-15 crash
- Bench proves fruitful for Y.
- Trial begins in toddler death
- D-Will home for daughter
- Unga family is making its mark
- ESPN suddenly loves MWC
- SLC council OKs gay rights policies
348 - Editorial: Mormons and gay rights
199 - Senators want food tax restored
162 - Will state consider gay rights law?
145 - Letters: Strange breed in Utah
129 - Utes remain silent about BCS
120 - S.L. vote pending on gay protections
113 - Celtics crush Jazz
104 - Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
103 - Can BYU root for (ick) Utah Utes?
95
Bingham's got a lot of talent for having a bunch of Juniors and sophomores....
Ben Cahoon is a class act!!
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge,...
There is a VERY special place in hell for guys like this...Even ANIMALS know...
RE:Joe & Exactly. I tend to see the opposite way. I think that when Dwill...
Joe & Exactly are typical people who don't understand the game of basketball,...
I guess we only see what we want to see. But, the fact is that if BYU had...
It would be great if BYU could pull this off. Never count out a team that...
That's what i heard too!
Washington and Franklin believed in Providence, not Got. Franklin started to...

You can be the first to comment on this story.