Trying to Tame Boozer

Put yourself in this scenario.  You've been making a large amount of money the past few years.  You might find yourself on the chopping block with your employer for that very reason.  It also doesn't help that you're pushed to side a lot when the most important tasks need to be accomplished.  Do you A) Continue to try to prove yourself when given a chance B) Accept your role for what it is or C) Get frustrated enough that you feel you have to go public about it?

Most of us would choose A and a few others might select B.  For Carlos Boozer however, the answer is C.  Sick of being left on the bench in the fourth quarter for Taj Gibson, Boozer has made his feelings known to the press earlier this week.  What he did was re-spark the debate on whether or not he'll stick around for the final year of his contract or be amnestied.  Sure, he might have gotten himself a few games in which he could play to the end, but that doesn't mean he'll be trusted any more than he is now.

If Boozer didn't want to find himself in this pickle, maybe he should have decided to learn to play defense already.  Defense is what wins you games and there's probably no greater advocate for that view than Tom Thibodeau, who unfortunately for Boozer, happens to be his head coach.  Gibson will go out for Thibodeau and do whatever is asked of him, which is why he'll be in a Bulls uniform for the foreseeable future.  If Boozer hasn't figured out by now why he's been benched late or that the Bulls were forced to overpay for him, I can only shake my head.

He's still good for a double-double every night, but that merely makes his stats look good.  There's a chance his next NBA team will pay him just for that.  However, they better realize that if he won't improve himself defensively after over a decade in this league, it's not likely to ever happen.  If Thibodeau can't reach to him in this manner, is there any coach who really can?

Boozer better just shut his mouth and play basketball.  He can be great on certain nights, but a bad attitude will only take him so far with his teammates and coaches.  There's a sense of unity on this roster and they'll be damned if their starting power forward is a threat to that peace.  Sometimes though, the biggest rifts can be caused by one of the more notable names around.  Just ask Jerry Krause and Phil Jackson.