FanPost

7 Reasons the Jazz Need to Keep Boozer

Thanks to Basketball John for the idea on the topic.

1.       He’s a top 5 power forward.  You can have either Duncan or Garnett as a power forward, but not both.  Throw Bosh and Gasol in there and he may even be top 4.  David West and Brand are close, but Boozer is either better or as good as those two.  You don’t typically trade top 5 guys unless you’re Memphis or Minnesota and thank goodness we aren’t them.

2.       We need to keep the Jazz competitive and DWill happy.  What happens to Boozer this offseason seems to be on Deron's mind.  They are buddies and they make a really good tandem.  If the Jazz shun Boozer, you never know if that might turn Deron off too.

3.      32 points, 18 rebounds, 60% shooting.  Those are the numbers Carlos put up in the Delta Center the last year he played for Cleveland, leading the Cavs to their first win in SLC in 14 years.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want him putting up those numbers against us again, or against any other team for that matter, if he isn’t a Jazzman.

4.      Paul Millsap averages a foul every 6 minutes.  Millsap is an absolute beast and I can’t mention how much I love his tenacity and hustle.  But he fouls at one of the quickest rates in the game and if he was forced to play significantly more minutes, it would be a huge problem.  In comparison, Boozer committed a foul every 10 minutes last year.

5.      There would be a decrease in funny fan signs at the games.  “I’m a Mormon, but I love my Booze” is nothing short of a riot.    Where would we get our laughs from when going to the arena if Boozer got traded?  I mean, it’s good for at least five belly laughs from Bolerjack a season.  There is the Bear’s "make fun of the refs" schtick. 

6.      He’s only 26 years old.  He doesn’t put up as many points as Karl Malone did at 26, but he rebounds as well and shoots as well from the field as the mailman.  And even though defense is his apparent weakness, he gets as many steals and blocks as Malone did at the same age.  Remember, even though Malone was a good defender, he didn’t make the 1st-team defensive list until his 13th year.  And he was only 2nd team once before that.  Boozer has some time to learn.

7.      Boozer might only be the scapegoat the fans need.  The same fans that want to see Boozer shipped out, probably wanted Kirilenko gone after last season’s overly emotional playoffs and pout session.  And whether you would like to admit it, Andrei had a great season.  Fans always need a reason the season didn’t result in a trophy and Boozer is the popular reason now.  If he has a stellar season, we will forget that we ever called for his head just like we forget that we wanted AK’s last season.

Next:  7 Reasons the Jazz Need to Trade Boozer

 

All comments are the opinion of the commenter and not necessarily that of SLC Dunk or SB Nation.