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
- NFL: Week 9 recap 11:17 p.m.
- Utah Utes volleyball brief 11:10 p.m.
- Photos of the week, Nov. 8 11:08 p.m.
- Sports briefs 11:07 p.m.
- Avalanche suffer 1st home loss 10:34 p.m.
- Thunder rout short-handed Magic 10:32 p.m.
- Evans helps Kings top Warriors 10:29 p.m.
- Lakers win 5th straight 10:27 p.m.
- Bystanders framed for child porn 10:27 p.m.
- WAC: Nevada drubs the Spartans 10:25 p.m.
- Gay advocates trek to LDS office
216 - House passes health care bill
199 - Lobo suspended
173 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
151 - Speed has never been BYU's game
136 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
127 - RSL rallies to advance
103 - Thousands protest health bill
102 - Provo company innovating engines
100 - Utes pound winless Lobos
89
Here are a few leftovers from Beckerman from the "5 questions" interview.
It's almost tip time at the Spectrum as Utah State prepares to take on...
Was that the Back-to-back championship Rocket team that beat us? 1 win and...
Utah has been solid so far this season. Good luck with TCU this week.
Being a single father I soon found out that that there are many many things...
I would like to know the source of your data. I've seen data to contradict...
Dude, what is your problem? I may not be a Ute fan, but the guy didn't...
Sorry guys. Science is not performed by consensus. That's how politics...
lost his job and his security clearance because porn (adult) was found on his...
"The seniors really took leadership of this team..." ********* Only for...
Ironically, of the few comments supporting Mr. Gale they were simplistic and...



You can be the first to comment on this story.