"Carlos' agent then said he wanted to go to another room to talk with his client and his wife alone, which they did. When they returned, his agent said he had again explained everything to them so that they understood everything involved and said that their thinking had not changed.

"Jim Paxson then told him, 'We'd like to begin, as soon as permissible, to negotiate an agreement that we can sign on July 14.' Carlos responded, 'That's exactly what I want. I want to get this done as quickly as we can.'

"Over time Carlos had told Jim and me repeatedly, 'If you show respect for me, I will show respect for you.' So, in the June 30 meeting, I reminded him of that and said, 'We are all counting on what you said in earlier meetings and again today.' He responded, 'That's right and you can trust me on that.' I asked if we could all trust each other? Carlos, his wife and agent each responded 'Yes.' At that point, believing so strongly in Carlos, I said we would not pick up his option. Our intent, as soon as we could do so, was to re-do his contract."

Gund accepts blame for unlocking the door to Boozer's defection.

"As the team owner," he wrote, "I made the decision. . . . Any criticism should be directed to me, not to Jim Paxson. I want to be very clear that any fault is mine.

"In the final analysis, I decided to trust Carlos and show him the respect he asked for. He did not show that trust and respect in return. That's what happened. . . . The decision was mine and I take full responsibility."

Gund also wrote that the Cavs "are continuing to look at every possible option that will allow us to improve our team," but that in order to match on Boozer "we would need to make player personnel moves of such a magnitude that it would have significant negative impact on our team moving forward."

Boozer, who denies he ever had an agreement with the Cavs, has no desire to remain in Cleveland.

"Why would I go back to an organization that tried to butcher my character?" the Plain Dealer quoted him as saying in Wednesday's editions.

"I'm ready to move forward," added Boozer, who, contrary to an ESPN.com report Tuesday, did not actually travel to Utah to sign his offer sheet. "I'm excited about becoming . . . a part of a team that is excited about having me."

That would be the young and rebuilding Jazz, who last season went 42-40 in their first year sans John Stockton and Karl Malone.

In Utah, Boozer would become the Jazz's new highest-paid player — and perhaps break out of the long shadow cast in Cleveland by 2004 NBA Rookie of the Year LeBron James.

"I'm going to Utah," he told the Plain Dealer, "where Andrei Kirilenko is already an established All-Star in this league, and they have stud players like Matt Harpring and Mehmet Okur.