Jazz: Okur, Boozer stay in with Utah

The reality of a barren free-agent market caught up to Carlos Boozer on Tuesday, when the Jazz forward opted to return to Utah, unable to match the $12.7 million he was under contract to make for the upcoming season.

Boozer's decision prompted Mehmet Okur to follow suit barely two hours later. Okur will make $9 million, pushing the Jazz into luxury-tax territory with more than $73 million in salary commitments and at least two more players still to add.

The Jazz will retain Boozer, a two-time All-Star and lightning rod among fans, but the question is at what cost, with Paul Millsap hitting the market late Tuesday night as a restricted free agent and seeking a contract in the range of $10 million a year.

After

declaring to an ESPN.com reporter in December that he planned to opt out, adding, "No matter what, I'm going to get a raise regardless," Boozer's decision came as a stunning -- and likely humbling -- reversal.

"I think it's a good thing for the Jazz," chief executive Greg Miller said. "I think that Carlos is one of the great players in the league and I'm excited to have him be part of the team. Hopefully, we'll have a great season largely due to his presence on our team."

Both Boozer and Okur signed with the Jazz in the summer of 2004. Boozer averaged 21.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in his two All-Star seasons, while Okur averaged 17.0 points and 7.7 rebounds last season while hitting 44.6 percent of his three-pointers.

"We didn't lose any players," Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said. "It was not in my court, so I didn't have a feeling one way or the other. We prepared for every which way, all the scenarios."

With Kyle Korver opting in Monday, the Jazz will have at least $34.2 million in salary-cap friendly expiring contracts. They could have $10 million or more in cap space next summer provided they make no further long-term commitments.

The Jazz could explore trading Boozer,

thus avoiding a lame-duck season followed by his potential departure as a free agent, but to do so with any team over the cap would require them to take back at least $10 million in salaries.

O'Connor expressed a desire last week for the Jazz to keep their core players together and see what they could do healthy after an injury-ravaged season. He was asked Tuesday if that was the plan looking ahead.

"Right now it is," O'Connor said. "If we did improve our team, then we would look to do that. As I sit here ... I think we kept good basketball players on our team."

Okur's agent, Marc Fleisher, met with O'Connor for a little more than an hour Monday afternoon at EnergySolutions Arena and left without having made any decisions. Once Boozer opted out, though, Okur's decision followed shortly.

"He's always been happy with the Jazz," Fleisher said, "and he's looking forward to it and we'll take it from there."

Had he opted out, Okur could not be sure that the Jazz would make as much of an effort to re-sign him in the wake of Boozer's decision and the team's skyrocketing payroll. The Jazz could resume extension talks with Okur later this summer.

"He has clearly been an integral part of our success since his arrival and we are hopeful that he will continue to perform at such a high level in the future," O'Connor said in a statement.

The Jazz now run the risk of losing Millsap this summer, followed by Boozer next summer. Millsap's agent, DeAngelo Simmons, said Boozer's decision would signal to teams that they might be able to sign away Millsap with an offer the Jazz could not match.

"Now that they know that [the Jazz] don't really have that amount of money, they're going to be more aggressive, in my opinion," Simmons said.

The Jazz have been unequivocal about matching offers to Millsap, though the price could be staggering. An $8 million a year offer to Millsap would leave the Jazz facing more than $11 million in luxury-tax penalties.

O'Connor said Boozer's return and the related payroll implications would "not in the least" keep the Jazz from retaining Millsap.

Simmons did say that he thought a Boozer/Millsap pairing could work for another season. "Anything is possible and anything is negotiable," Simmons said. He called it a "tough situation" and added, "I hope for the best for both parties."

Despite Boozer's declaration, the Jazz long questioned if the market Boozer believed existed was more fantasy than reality. Only three teams -- Detroit, Oklahoma City and Memphis -- have the salary-cap space to break the bank on a free agent.

Miller said he wouldn't have been surprised by either decision from Boozer. He added that he hadn't talked to Boozer since Miller made comments critical of Boozer's defense and leadership in a local television interview in May.

For all of late owner Larry Miller's determination to never become a luxury-tax paying team, the small-market Jazz are faced with just that fate in the wake of Tuesday's events.

"Talking to the Miller family and Greg, I explained what could happen," O'Connor said, "and I think if they felt it was not a long-term situation and improved our team, they would understand."

The tax threshold is expected to be set around $70 million, with teams paying a dollar-for-dollar penalty for the amount they exceed it. They also would lose out on a share of the tax-payer pool, which amounted to $3 million per team for the 2007-08 season.

The Jazz still have to decide about re-signing Millsap and will have to carry at least 13 players on their roster, according to NBA rules.

"It's like I said before: If we need to go into the luxury tax to protect our players, protect our team, keep our team intact, we'd have to take a look at that," Miller said, adding that the Jazz would be "very deliberate" in doing so.

A representative for Boozer's agent, Rob Pelinka, delivered the Jazz notice of the decision shortly before 3 p.m. at the arena, ending what had been frenzied speculation in recent days.

O'Connor did make mention of Boozer's injury-plagued tenure in Utah. Boozer has missed 134 of 410 games (32.7 percent) the past five seasons with foot, hamstring and knee injuries.

"We are excited that Carlos has decided to remain with the Jazz," O'Connor said. "We are hopeful he can continue to play at an All-Star level and will have an injury-free season."

Boozer missed 44 games with an injured left knee that required surgery. He returned in late February, but the Jazz went just 15-11 to close the regular season at full strength before losing to the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.

rsiler@sltrib.com