To be clear, I borrowed this book from the library so Booz is not getting my money.

But I know Cavs fans from this era will enjoy some of the tidbits in this book.

Boozer’s Rookie Year

  • The Knicks made a draft day promise to get him at #36, but the Cavs swooped in at #32
  • Boozer met his new agent, Rob Pelinka, through Deshawn Stevenson, proving that Deshawn actually was the Lebron Stopper
  • Booz felt John Lucas was the one who believed in him and led to him landing in Cleveland and loved playing for the guy
  • He realized halfway through his rookie year that the coaches were intentionally sitting Z and Ricky Davis for key stretches to secure the tank
  • He claims that during the famous practice interview where he said of Lebron “we have multiple guys at that position who are better than he is right now” that he was sitting right next to those guys and he was saying it in order to not disrespect his teammates and their growth as players

Lebron’s Rookie Year (Boozer’s Second Year)

  • During his first Cavs practice, Lebron jumped from outside the paint and OVER Milt Palacio for a dunk
  • It was instantly clear during the first practice that Lebron was the best player on the team, the most skilled, and the most athletic
  • Rookie Lebron was already “a computer” and a “human rolodex” and the highest IQ player Booz had ever encountered
  • Lebron brought Krispy Kreme’s to the locker room before each home game during his rookie year

Rookie Lebron Learning to Lead

  • Booz claims that he “boldly” approached Lebron at the midseason mark after a terrible loss and said “When are you going to step up and take over?”
  • “I got you Booz,” Lebron said, with an uncharacteristically stern expression that told me we’d gotten through. He turned to the rest of the team. “I’ve got all of you.”
  • Apparently the players felt Lebron had been too deferential and that he took off like a rocket ship after this moment. Booz thinks if this intervention happened sooner they would have surely made the playoffs.

Boozer’s Infamous Contract Negotiation

  • *I’m summarizing the book here, not endorsing Boozer’s side of the story
  • After the season Booz sat down in person with owner Gordon Gund, GM Jim Paxson, his agent Rob Pelinka, and his wife CeCe.
  • “The franchise had the right to pick up my $695,000 third year option, but we discussed an alternative where they’d allow me to become a free agent so the franchise could offer me a clean-slate contract with a much larger salary to reflect my stats, but for a longer period of time.”
  • “Once you become a free agent we’d like to offer you a six year deal for $39 million,” Paxson said.

The Fuckery Begins

  • Booz officially becomes a free agent in June and claims he was just waiting to get the call and to sign the paperwork because he loved the deal and could envision 5-6 titles with Lebron.
  • Pelinka calls to tell him the offer is there, but that he also “shopped around” and got offers from the Hawks, Bobcats, and $70-75 million offers from the Jazz and Nuggets.
  • He claims neither he nor Pelinka solicited the offers.
  • He claims the NBA League Office called him shortly afterward to warn him that the NBA suspected that he had entered into a “Gentleman’s Agreement” with the Cavs and that the NBA would investigate him if he signed with the Cavs.
  • Booz claims he was so freaked out by the pressure that he didn’t know what to do
  • Claims that he left the entire negotiation at that point up to the NBAPA and they secured the deal with the Jazz

Hindsight is 20/20 (apologies to Gordon)

  • I blame Paxson for fucking this entire thing up royally.
  • He should have picked up the 3rd year and then extended or matched any offer in the offseason.
  • He also could have matched the Jazz offer and he didn’t, which was a mistake.
  • I looked into the details on that and, yes, he could have actually matched, but he didn’t want to make the roster moves necessary to do it.
  • But it’s fucking amazing how Pelinka behaved during this. He helps induce the Cavs into letting Booz become a free agent, then he shops Booz around to other teams, then he makes sure the league knows about the Cavs trying to sign Booz so that it looks like a gentleman’s agreement.
  • You almost have to appreciate how much of a scumbag the guy is.

With a core of Brown, Booz, and Z I think the Cavs would have gone to the NBA Finals in 07, 08, 09, and 10.

Keep in mind that it took the “Big 3” Celtics absolutely everything to dispatch the Cavs in 7 in 2008. With Boozer on that team, there’s just no question the Cavs win. Lebron just needed a tiny, extra lift. Booz represented way more than a tiny lift.

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