Carlos Boozer: "Having a chance to win a championship right away was very appealing..."
Sam Smith: Bulls and Boozer agree to five-year deal
July 8, 2010 -- The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has signed free agent forward Carlos Boozer. In accordance with team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.
“We are very happy to have Carlos join the Bulls. We are confident that his skill set, toughness and leadership are all qualities that make him a great fit for the Bulls, and he will add a low-post element to our team that we have been searching for,” said Chicago Bulls General Manager Gar Forman. “Post players, with the skills that Carlos possesses, are at a premium in the NBA and we believe that we have landed one of the best big men in the NBA.”
Boozer (6-9, 260) joins the Bulls following a successful six-season run with the Utah Jazz. With the Jazz last season, Boozer played in 78 games (all starts) and averaged 19.5 ppg (20th in the NBA), 11.2 rpg (fifth), 3.2 apg, 1.08 bpg, 34.3 mpg and shot a career-high .562 from the field (sixth) and .742 from the free throw line. The eight-year veteran posted 55 double-doubles (third), including 29 contests with 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds. He also was one of 10 players in the NBA last season who averaged a double-double.
“I am extremely excited about coming to Chicago and joining the Bulls,” said Boozer. “I am really looking forward to being a part of this organization, and I am eager to start working with my new teammates. I feel we have the talent here to begin competing for a title and I cannot wait to get started.”
For his career, the 28-year old power forward has played in 510 regular season contests (469 starts) and owns averages of 17.2 ppg, 10.2 rpg (2.7 OR), 2.5 apg, 0.97 spg, and shot .541 from the field and .728 from the line in 32.7 mpg. In his eight seasons in the NBA, his teams have advanced to the playoffs six times, where he has appeared in 44 postseason games (44 starts) and averaged 20.3 ppg, 12.5 rpg and 2.8 apg in 38.2 mpg, and shot .503 from the field and .707 from the line.
A two-time NBA All-Star (2007, 2008), Boozer was originally drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round (35th overall) of the 2002 NBA Draft. He played two seasons in Cleveland before signing with the Jazz as a restricted free agent on July 30, 2004.
Born in Aschaffenburg, Germany, and raised in Juneau, Ala., Boozer enjoyed a three-year career at Duke University where he was a starter for the Blue Devils 2001 NCAA Championship team. More recently, he earned a gold medal with Team USA at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and he was also a member of Team USA’s Senior National Team in 2004 that won a bronze medal in Athens.