With zero NBA championships and only two conference titles in their team's history, if there's anything Utah Jazz fans are accustomed to, it's tragedy and heartbreak. However, with the loss of nationally respected and locally beloved owner Larry H. Miller, this year has been especially tough. Though not as tragic, it adds to the pain that, much less winning an NBA title, the Jazz stand a chance of missing the playoffs. With the outlook bleak, Jazz fans and sports talk radio hosts across the Beehive state are buzzing about what the team needs to do to finally win a championship. All seem to agree that winning a title is simply a matter of personnel, of putting the right pieces together for the right price. The buzz gets heated, however, when the fans and pundits consider whether we should keep our highly paid starting power forward, Carlos Boozer, or set him loose at the end of the season when he becomes a free agent and go instead with his backup, the much less expensive Paul Millsap.
Some argue that the Jazz should keep Boozer by paying whatever is required at the end of the season when he enters free agency (which allows him to sell his services in a free market to the highest bidder). I disagree – the Jazz, and their fans, need to let Boozer go. Though he is a good player, Carlos Boozer is a hindrance to the Jazz because the player the Jazz can replace him with, Paul Millsap, is not prone to injury, is comparable with Boozer in size and production, and is a much better overall value.
For one of the highest paid players on the team, Carlos Boozer sits on the bench a lot, though not (necessarily) because he is lazy. Boozer has the injury bug. According to the website Basketball Reference, in the 2004-2005 season, he missed 31 games out of 82 total. During the '05-'06 campaign, he sat for 49 games – more than half the season. This year, the power forward's body has again failed him. Of 74 games the Jazz have played thus far, Boozer has watched 45 from the bench. Boozer's understudy, Paul Millsap, on the other hand, played in all 82 games each of his first two seasons, and has only missed six contests so far this year. With Boozer, the Jazz are effectively paying a premium price for a player that, albeit through no fault of his own, cannot seem to make it to work everyday. If they are to make a run at the championship, the Jazz need reliability. They get it in Millsap, and at a hefty discount.
Some argue, however, that Millsap lacks the size necessary to play power forward. In supporting their argument, they might cite former college coach Lee Rose, who states in his book "The Basketball Handbook" that playing the power forward position requires that a player be "big and powerful, with emphasis more on strength than finesse" (Rose, 16). At 6'8" and 255 pounds, however, Millsap trails Boozer by only one inch and a mere eleven pounds. NBA beat writer Amar Panchmatia of Most Valuable Network's blog "NBA Outsider" argues that whatever weakness that small differential in size might cause in Millsap's performance, it is made up for by his athleticism. He writes that while he is bigger than Millsap, "You won't see Boozer flying high to finish alley-oops," as Millsap often does (Panchmatia).
Whether big or small, production – both defensive and offensive – is what matters. On defense, Boozer is usually serviceable. At times, however, he looks awful. Case in point: Consider the following video, in which Boozer can do nothing to stop a much smaller Ronnie Price from getting to the basket.
Some attribute Boozer's inconsistent defense to laziness. In his first year with the team, even Jazz owner Larry Miller suggested it in the public forum when he revealed to Sports Illustrated reporter Bill Syken that "Some nights he acted like he didn't care that much" (Syken).
Millsap, on the other hand, is more consistent in the effort he exhibits. Despite his smaller size, he blocks more shots (one per game) than Boozer, who blocks one shot every six games. Remember Boozer's inability to block the shot of a smaller player? Consider Millsap's ability to block that of a much larger player, demonstrated in the following video.
Offensively, Boozer shoots 51 percent; Millsap shoots 53 percent. Boozer scores nearly seventeen points per game on average; Millsap scores fourteen. Boozer turns the ball over to the other team two and a half times per game; Millsap less than twice per game. Overall, the two are nearly the same player on offense, with Millsap having a slight edge because he leads Boozer in two of the three categories. Some argue, however, that when Millsap plays in place of Boozer, the Jazz lose more. Indeed, that is the case. In his "NBA Outsider" blog, Panchmatia reports that prior to Boozer's injury this year, the Jazz were 8-4. In the next fourteen games, the team went 7-7. However, production at the power forward position stayed level. Prior to injury, Boozer had been shooting 56 percent. With Boozer out, Millsap shot 57 percent – a one percent improvement – indicating that other players caused those losses, not Millsap.
With both players nearly equal in most categories, and Millsap better in others, the decision to stick with Boozer or jettison him at the end of the season in favor of Millsap comes down to value. Boozer makes $11,600,000 dollars this season compared to Millsap's $797,581. Broken down by production, the Jazz pay Boozer $12,406 for every minute played, $24,066 for every point scored, and $37,908 for every rebound grabbed. With free agency, the Jazz will have to offer Boozer even more to keep him on next season. Millsap, on the other hand, gets paid $383 for every minute played, $842 for every point scored, and $1,320 for every rebound grabbed. Letting Boozer go would free up enough payroll room for the Jazz to bring in an additional quality player without sacrificing production, which just might be the formula for championship success.
This year has been one of change for the Jazz organization, much of it gloomy. The team – and its fans – needs a little light on the horizon. They need the possibility of a championship to return to Utah once again. Parting ways with Boozer, replacing him with Millsap, and then bringing in another quality player with the money saved provides the Jazz and the fans that possibility.
