Carlos Boozer may remain in Utah

Not until he signed with the Utah Jazz was Carlos Boozer considered a star. He began his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers and he left right as LeBron James was beginning to make his mark. Boozer played with the Utah Jazz in the early stages of the post-Karl Malone era. Playing the same position as "The Mailman," Boozer had big shoes to fill. By 2006, the team was a playoff contender and they made it all of the way to the Western Conference Finals in 2007.

The favorite season of Carlos Boozer was that 2006-2007 season that saw his team push the San Antonio Spurs to five games before losing. Each year since that year, the Jazz have taken a step back. In 2008, they fell in the second round to the Los Angeles Lakers 4-2, and last season they were swept by the Lakers in the first round. Last season was Boozer's least favorite season in Utah. It angered him to lose everything that he felt that he had built and he openly demanded out.

During the summer of 2009, Miami Heat president, Pat Riley, devised a plan that included Carlos Boozer. In an attempt to please Heat star, Dwyane Wade, Riley tried to build a contender on the fly. His plan was to sign free agent forward, Lamar Odom. If Odom had signed with the Heat, they would have then made a three-way trade that would have sent Udonis Haslem to Utah in exchange for Carlos Boozer. Then, to compliment the deal, the Heat would have signed Allen Iverson. Just out of curiousity, the sports media was in favor of this deal, but when Odom re-signed with the Lakers, everyone moved on except for Boozer.

Boozer demanded that the Utah Jazz trade him to Miami because he did not want to play in Utah anymore. He is good friends with both Dwyane Wade and Jermaine O'Neal. Plus, during the offseason, he vacations in Miami. From his talks with Pat Riley, he liked him and he was willing to build a relationship with the Heat head coach, Erik Spoelstra. But, the Utah Jazz declined trading Boozer. They let him know that they ran the organization and it was not the other way around. The Jazz refused to be bullied into trading Boozer and receiving nothing in exchange. Most likely, Haslem would have returned to the Heat after his season in Utah with the Jazz.

After not being traded during the offseason, Carlos Boozer entered training camp with the Jazz. But, when the season started, he was not playing to his full potential. Because of that, the team held a session that led to them going on a winning streak. At one point, this season, the Jazz held a record of 13-15, but they got things in gear and they are right behind the Mavericks and the Nuggets for the second seed in the West. Now, it appears that Boozer is having fun on the court, instead of wishing that he was in Miami. Even as recent as the trade deadline, there were rumors of the Jazz talking with the Heat about trading Boozer. But, as the trade deadline passed, no deal went through and with his free agency coming after the season, Carlos Boozer may end up re-signing with the Utah Jazz.