“I’m opting out. No matter what, I’m going to get a raise regardless. I am going to opt out, I don’t see why I wouldn’t” – Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz Power Forward, December 18th, 2008.

Maybe we should know better by now than to take this guy at his word. Maybe we should have kept in mind the circumstances surrounding his departure from Cleveland when he looked the owner of the Cavs, Gordon Gund, in the eye and told him they had a deal, shook his hand, then promptly turned around and signed a six year, $68 million deal with the Jazz the following day. Maybe we should have looked at the economic instability surrounding most every part of society, the NBA being no exception, and realized that no NBA GM in their right mind would allocate $15-$17 million a year for an extended period of time (the number Carlos and his agent, Rob Pelinka, were looking for this summer) to a guy who has missed 1/3 of his team’s games games since his arrival in Utah 5 years ago. Maybe executives around the NBA actually do watch Jazz games, and realized, just as all of us who follow this team know, that not only does Carlos Boozer NOT play defense, most of the time, it doesn’t even appear that he cares to try.

But we didn’t. We were foolish. We thought Carlos was telling the truth. We thought someone else was going to have to deal with the headaches, deal with the injuries, deal with the drama, deal with the gaping defensive hole at the power forward position that Carlos creates every time he sets foot on the floor.

But then, it happened. Declining to exercise the option in his contract that he was so adamant about pursuing back in December, Carlos once again officially became a member of the Utah Jazz last week, when he opted in for the final year of his deal. After the news dropped that, for one more year at least, Jazz fans were going to be forced to deal with Boozer and all the accompanying drama and inconsistency, you could almost hear a collective cry of “no…please, God, no” echo across the Wasatch Front. On the Bill and Spence show our text (20090) and phone (801.570.0700) lines lit up with disappointed, confused and down right angry Jazz fans who were anticipating the joyous day when Carlos would finally be someone else’s problem, but in an instant became theirs once again.

It’s kind of like if you lived with a degenerate roommate who never paid rent, left his stuff all over the house, never cleaned up or took out the garbage and had a habit of stumbling in at 3:00 AM every morning from the bar, causing enough ruckus to wake you out of a deep sleep. And just before you strangled said roommate, they came to you and declared, “hey, I just found an apartment in Vernal; I’ll be out by the end of the month”. So you celebrate, you’re relived, you help them move their crap out of your house, and you eagerly anticipate the day of their departure…then on the first day of the following month he/she shows up on your doorstep and tells you “hey, sorry about this, but that place isn’t ready for me yet. Is it cool if I crash here for, say, a year or so?”, and horror consumes you as you realize that you are forced to deal with your roommate’s b.s. for at least the foreseeable future, and you cancel all the short lived plans you made wile you were dreaming of the days of having the place to yourself.

So yes Jazz fans, you’re degenerate roommate is back, and he’s crashing with you for a least another year.

But you know what? Lost in all of the drama surrounding Boozer and his imminent/not so imminent departure is the good news.

Here’s what we know about Carlos Boozer: he’s all about getting paid, a professional athlete attribute not exclusive to Carlos, but one that he unapologetically wears on his sleeve. We know that he’s in the last year of his contract, we know that next summer he is a free agent (whether he likes it or not), we know that at the age of 28 he will be looking at his final opportunity to secure a max money, long term deal while in the prime if his career. And in order to do so, he has to have a monster year. Not just stay healthy, not just produce; mediocrity will not do. He has to dominate. He has to prove he can be a good teammate. He has to keep his mouth shut and avoid alienating everyone around him, including fans. He has to be a staple of consistency, with both his health and his production. He has to at least pretend that defense is a priority (even if it’s not). He has to put in the work, and he has to play hard night in and night out. He has to be the player we saw in 2007 and 2008, when he was a constant double-double threat, played in 74 and 81 games, respectively, made the all-star team both seasons, and led the Jazz to the playoffs, including the western conference finals in ’07.

If he wants to get paid (and he does) he simply can’t be the player we saw last year, who missed 45 games, never found his rhythm, stuck his foot in his mouth numerous times, became a distraction in the locker room, and was a small speed bump for Pau Gasol and the LA Lakers in route to a dominant five game first round victory over the Jazz in the ’09 post season. The Lakers didn’t even appear to break a sweat, and the Jazz team that gave the Lakers all they could handle in a six game series in ’08 (a series that was actually closer that it looked) suddenly became only a distant memory. Last season was nothing short of a disaster for Boozer, and for him to believe that someone would be foolish enough to throw bags and bags of money at him this summer was a sign of just how self-centered and delusional he can be.

He is very talented offensively and fits in well with Jerry Sloan’s system. He is a legitimate threat from both blocks; utilizing his ability to finish at the rim with both hands, and his array of post moves that keep defenders guessing. He can knock down a 15 foot jump shot; a valuable trait for a big man, and establishes great position in both the high and low posts, allowing the Jazz to break into their cutting sequences, a necessary ingredient of the Jazz’s offensive attack, and a staple of Coach Sloan’s offensive philosophy, dating back to the late 80′s. He has value, and when he’s right mentally and physically, he can be dominant; we’ve seen it. It’s just bee a while…it’s been a long while.

(Photo: Tom Smart, Deseret News)

For Boozer, this is not about his team, because it never is. It’s about him, because it always is. But for Jazz fans, for one year at least, this is not a bad thing. If Carlos really believes he is a max money guy, and deserves to be paid along the lines of his “Redeem Team” teammates he so admirably cheered for from the sidelines during the Beijing Olympics last summer, then it’s now or never, and the upcoming season is the biggest of his professional career. So Jazz fans, hold out hope. Believe that Boozer can stay healthy, produce and carry your team deep into the post season. Believe that last season was an aberration; a fluke even. Believe that Boozer is the player we saw in 0’7 and 0’8. Even if he doesn’t care about you, care about him. Yes Jazz fans, even learn to love this man…for now.