SaintzFury13
10-08-2021, 05:29 PM
I'm sure this has been brought up as a topic before. But I've always found it to be one of the most fascinating what if stories in NBA history, simply because of what LeBron still managed to accomplish in Cleveland even without him and what could have been if he still had him around. I've always said time and time again that letting Carlos Boozer go was the biggest mistake the Cavaliers ever made during their first stint with LeBron, which is odd because that happened right after LeBron's first season with the team. It was a mistake that they never recovered from because they never managed to acquire a player like him again, and he would have been a perfect second option for LeBron to play with.
In their one and only season playing together, Boozer averaged a very good 15 PPG and 11 RPG. This was only Boozers second season in the league, and he was putting up those numbers with a rookie LeBron James. When he went to Utah, he continued to improve as a player. His peak in production came in both 2007 and 2008. In both seasons, he averaged 20 PPG, shooting 54% and 56% in both seasons respectively while also averaging over 10 RPG again. Now granted, those were as the number one option on offense for that Jazz team. And once Deron Williams became the number one option, his numbers declined, but they were still very good nonetheless. He became a two time all star and even made the all NBA team in 2008.
Compare this to some of LeBron's other teammates during his first seven years with Cleveland. Big Z was already starting to decline in 2006 and was never really an elite player again. Mo Williams was never really an all star caliber player to begin with, but was a perfect fit playing alongside LeBron and benefited greatly from it until the playoffs rolled in. Larry Hughes was never anything close to the player he was in Washington due to injuries. And you have a few others like Antwan Jaminson (who was terrible in the playoffs), Ben Wallace and Shaq (both of whom were way past their glory days). The key difference with Boozer is that he was in his sophomore year when LeBron played alongside him. He wasn't injury prone. He had already shown signs of potential with his double double season. He was capable of being the perfectly reliable second option on offense that LeBron would have loved to have. There wouldn't have been any real issues regarding fit. They are two guys who would have grown together and continued to develop chemistry. That's far more valuable than having guys who were once all star level players coming to your team for a short period of time.
There's two ways I look at approaching this when asking what would have happened had Carlos stayed with the Cavaliers. On one hand, Cleveland probably becomes a playoff team in 2005 as opposed to 2006 which is when they first made it. I don't know if him being there puts them over Detroit in 2005 or 2006, but I absolutely see them going to the finals again in 2007 and you can go either direction with how that turns out. Having another consistent scoring option certainly helps against the Spurs, but on the other hand he's probably being guarded by Duncan for most of the series and Tony Parker is the main reason Cleveland lost the series anyways. But the games were in fact very close, so who knows. But 2009 and 2010 are the biggest difference makers, and I feel confident in stating that the 2009 Cavaliers, assuming Mo Williams still ends up on the team, do in fact move past Orlando and beat LA to win the title. Having that consistent second option would have done wonders against Orlando, and unless you decide to have Howard guard Boozer (which they wouldn't for obvious reasons), the Magic don't really have anyone that can stop Boozer from getting his regular production against that team. And Boozer also solves that problem in 2010.
But on the other hand, Carlos Boozer is also an incredibly attractive trade asset. We know he would go on to become a very good player, so I see no reason as to why Cleveland isn't able to turn that into a trade for an even better player, which all the more makes LeBron winning a title guaranteed regardless of what season we're thinking of in his first stint with Cleveland.
And from that point on? With either scenario? Who knows what else happens. Maybe LeBron never leaves Cleveland. Maybe he wins more MVP awards. I'm confident in saying that he will have already won one, or perhaps even two, championships before the end of 2010 which is when LeBron left. Beyond that point? It's hard to say. But I'm willing to bet that Cleveland would be a much better free agent attraction at that point now that they're a proven winning franchise. And perhaps even, dare I say, LeBron builds a case for GOAT that I don't think he has now.
Of course, we'll never know because this ends up not happening. But it's always been a big topic of interest to me, and something I'll always obsess over because it had the potential to completely change how LeBron's career turns out.
In their one and only season playing together, Boozer averaged a very good 15 PPG and 11 RPG. This was only Boozers second season in the league, and he was putting up those numbers with a rookie LeBron James. When he went to Utah, he continued to improve as a player. His peak in production came in both 2007 and 2008. In both seasons, he averaged 20 PPG, shooting 54% and 56% in both seasons respectively while also averaging over 10 RPG again. Now granted, those were as the number one option on offense for that Jazz team. And once Deron Williams became the number one option, his numbers declined, but they were still very good nonetheless. He became a two time all star and even made the all NBA team in 2008.
Compare this to some of LeBron's other teammates during his first seven years with Cleveland. Big Z was already starting to decline in 2006 and was never really an elite player again. Mo Williams was never really an all star caliber player to begin with, but was a perfect fit playing alongside LeBron and benefited greatly from it until the playoffs rolled in. Larry Hughes was never anything close to the player he was in Washington due to injuries. And you have a few others like Antwan Jaminson (who was terrible in the playoffs), Ben Wallace and Shaq (both of whom were way past their glory days). The key difference with Boozer is that he was in his sophomore year when LeBron played alongside him. He wasn't injury prone. He had already shown signs of potential with his double double season. He was capable of being the perfectly reliable second option on offense that LeBron would have loved to have. There wouldn't have been any real issues regarding fit. They are two guys who would have grown together and continued to develop chemistry. That's far more valuable than having guys who were once all star level players coming to your team for a short period of time.
There's two ways I look at approaching this when asking what would have happened had Carlos stayed with the Cavaliers. On one hand, Cleveland probably becomes a playoff team in 2005 as opposed to 2006 which is when they first made it. I don't know if him being there puts them over Detroit in 2005 or 2006, but I absolutely see them going to the finals again in 2007 and you can go either direction with how that turns out. Having another consistent scoring option certainly helps against the Spurs, but on the other hand he's probably being guarded by Duncan for most of the series and Tony Parker is the main reason Cleveland lost the series anyways. But the games were in fact very close, so who knows. But 2009 and 2010 are the biggest difference makers, and I feel confident in stating that the 2009 Cavaliers, assuming Mo Williams still ends up on the team, do in fact move past Orlando and beat LA to win the title. Having that consistent second option would have done wonders against Orlando, and unless you decide to have Howard guard Boozer (which they wouldn't for obvious reasons), the Magic don't really have anyone that can stop Boozer from getting his regular production against that team. And Boozer also solves that problem in 2010.
But on the other hand, Carlos Boozer is also an incredibly attractive trade asset. We know he would go on to become a very good player, so I see no reason as to why Cleveland isn't able to turn that into a trade for an even better player, which all the more makes LeBron winning a title guaranteed regardless of what season we're thinking of in his first stint with Cleveland.
And from that point on? With either scenario? Who knows what else happens. Maybe LeBron never leaves Cleveland. Maybe he wins more MVP awards. I'm confident in saying that he will have already won one, or perhaps even two, championships before the end of 2010 which is when LeBron left. Beyond that point? It's hard to say. But I'm willing to bet that Cleveland would be a much better free agent attraction at that point now that they're a proven winning franchise. And perhaps even, dare I say, LeBron builds a case for GOAT that I don't think he has now.
Of course, we'll never know because this ends up not happening. But it's always been a big topic of interest to me, and something I'll always obsess over because it had the potential to completely change how LeBron's career turns out.