Boozer trade could result in tears — of joy

Bye-bye, Boozer.

Those are the words that most Utah Jazz fans have been hoping to say for several weeks. And, any day now, they're going to get their wish.

We've often been told to be careful what we wish for, because we just might get it. Well, Jazz fans, you're going to get your way on this one, so don't grumble if it doesn't work out quite the way you thought it would, or should.

But in this case, I've gotta agree with you — the Jazz front office is doing the right thing for the team's long-term well being.

With their decision to match the Portland Trail Blazers' four-year, $32 million offer to restricted free agent power forward Paul Millsap, Carlos Boozer — the man Millsap will permanently replace in Utah's starting lineup — can definitely start packing his bags, if they're not already packed and waiting for a forwarding address.

Sure, right now, Boozer is a better basketball player than Millsap, at least on the offensive end of the floor. But Millsap, who has a ton of up-side and a great work ethic to him, will hopefully bust his butt to earn those big bucks, and I don't believe we've yet seen the terrific player he will become someday.

I do believe we've seen the best of Boozer, though. And while his scoring ability will no doubt be missed at times, and he has a well-deserved reputation as a 20-point/10-rebound guy, Boozer just might be the most vilified Jazzman since Greg Ostertag.

In Ostertag's case, it was because he landed a fat contract extension and then just seemed content to remain the same, bumbling big guy with bad hands that he was in the beginning. He frustrated the heck out of Utah's fans with his occasional superb performance, which would usually be followed by a series of maddening, flat-line efforts. Ostertag never seemed to care enough to improve his game, never lived up to our hopes and expectations and thus never earned the big investment Utah had made in him.

The scorn for Boozer, though, might run even deeper because he possesses such great ability on the court. The 6-foot-9 power forward could have been a major impact player for this franchise for many years, but he selfishly seemed to care far more about his own statistics and comfort level than he did about the team's success.

Let's face it, Boozer is a proven low-post presence and a tremendous scorer/rebounder who opposing teams must reckon with.

But it's not all the things Boozer did that infuriated Jazz fans. It's all the things he didn't do.