Dana Greene - Boozer better stay healthy

I'm not blaming Carlos Boozer for not opting out of the final year of his contract with the Jazz. He and his agent knew nobody was going to pay more than 12.7 million dollars for a guy who's missed 134 games in the last 5 years. Financially speaking, the smart play for Boozer was to stay with the Jazz.

But if he wasn't already a marked man before, he certainly is now. By opting in, Boozer has put the Jazz in a world of fiscal hurt. They're already over the salary cap even before they decide what to do with Paul Millsap and with just 11 players on the roster. The Jazz, and especially the fans, are going to demand their money's worth.

Even in his statement, Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said, "We are hopeful (Boozer) can continue to play at an All-Star level and will have an injury-free season." When Boozer's healthy, he's as good as any power forward in the league offensively. But that just hasn't happened enough. He missed 45 games last season, and Millsap proved he was a very capable replacement.

Boozer has been the most polarizing player on the Jazz ever since he got here five years ago. But if he thinks the fans were tough on him before, just wait until he misses that first game because of an injury. Now that's gonna be painful.