Boozer: MJ's legacy not a negative

[MRN]

Carlos Boozer doesn't believe his fellow free agents will view playing in Chicago -- under the shadow of Michael Jordan's legacy -- as a negative. In fact, the Utah Jazz forward sees it as one of Chicago's selling points when free agency opens on July 1.

"A lot of people in my era, in my age group, we watched MJ do what he did: win championships, be the face of the NBA and continue to dominate the game," Boozer said Wednesday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I think most of the free agents this summer [think it's] probably an attractive thing to have that history, where MJ played, where [Scottie] Pippen played for those six championships.

"I can remember being a kid and watching that. I think everybody, whoever it is this summer, can remember watching MJ do his thing in Chicago, so I think that will be more of a positive thing than a negative thing."

Although LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have gotten most of the attention among this summer's vaunted free-agent class, Boozer is an established inside scoring threat, averaging 19.5 points and 11.2 rebounds with the Jazz this season.

While Bosh released a top-five teams list, Boozer was coy about his preferred destinations, but stressed that Utah is still very much in the running. He also said the Bulls would have to be in the mix as well, and they likely will be for every free agent this summer.

"Really good, really young," Boozer said when asked for his impression of the Bulls. "They're young but with a lot of experience. They've gone to the playoffs for a couple years and had some great battles with the Celtics. This year was tough with the Cavs who went through them fast. They have a lot of talent, a lot of guys who can play. It's going to be interesting to see what happens with that franchise this summer."

Carlos Boozer: Michael Jordan's legacy won't scare free agents - ESPN Chicago

 

[JCM]

hmm boozer looks like he appreciates our franchise.

i agree with him, we all saw MJ dominate the nba back in the 90's and alot of people say that jordans shadow is a negative for potential FA. i think not, mostly all the people that say that are non bulls fans. like NY.

 

[MRN]

I'd like to see Boozer in a Bulls uniform, but I think he'd be a better supplement to a bigger name free agent, which would almost have to be LeBron.

That'd be a sick team, I can't wait for all this to go down.

 

[JCM]

I also will like to have Boozer, he is a bit undersized but he is a great PF overall.

thing is, i think he has had some bumps on the road with lebron, i hear that he didnt have a great relationship with him back in CLE. one of the factors why he left cle in the first place, and of course the money he got from the jazz.

 

[MRN]

Well, I think they both care about winning, so they could probably squash that shit and bring a championship to Chicago.

 

[JCM]

yep, if they are mature enough and put it in the past. then hell yeah.

but i guess that lebron and boozer have pretty big egos.

 

[JCM]

yeah having lebron solo makes us a contender, anything else is a bonus.

 

[Lefty]

If they simply get Lebron and Boozer, they will win an NBA title.

So you mean that getting, like, the best player currently in the NBA on the Bulls makes them a title contender? I never would have guessed.

 

[truebluefan]

Of course he is right.

Look at the success of Boston and LA. The stars that have played there and are playing there are not intimidated with the shadow(s) of elite players that have played for them.

 

[xCraCKz]

I'm glad somebody is smart enough to see the coming to play Chicago and in Jordan's shadow is not a bad thing.

 

[Shepard21]

Plus LeBron wears number 23. He clearly doesn't care too much about Jordan's shadow. In fact he is changing his number, because he thinks Jordan's number should be retired. Even though he has a huge ego, like all stars do, he is definitely humble enough to admit that MJ is better than him.

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

^you of all people should know however(judging by your avy) that lebron is changing his number to 6 BECAUSE of MJ

 

[JCM]

another reason he is changing his number is because of jersey sales.

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

^^you make a good point

and boozer is awesome

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

I still don't want Boozer, but he must have read my posts or article.

 

[Anytime23]

Like ive been saying, this shadow nonsense needs to stop because its just ignorant.

Ive been on the Boozer bandwagon if we dont land a top FA. I like him more than Amare and Johnson and Boozer in the past has stated that he likes our team. I like his pick and roll game paired with Rose. I would be very pleased if he was on our team.