How big of a difference would Carlos Boozer have made if he stayed with Cleveland?

[Im Still Ballin]

A legitimate second option on offense is what LeBron was missing for those seven years. Mo Williams was the best he was given, who ideally would've been a third or fourth option. Zydrunas and Larry Hughes were often the second-leading scorers before Mo got there.

How much does having Boozer change LeBron's first stint in Cleveland? To have a 20 and 10 bruiser that can shoot the mid-range jump shot and pass a little.

Boozer averaged the following from 2004-05 to 2009-10:

- 19.3 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.4 bpg, 2.5 topg
- 54.4% FG, 71.6% FT, and 57.8% TS (107% TS+)

He also played 44 playoff games from 2006-07 to 2009-10:

- 20.3 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 2.8 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.4 bpg, 2.9 topg
- 50.3% FG, 70.7% FT, and 54.0% TS (99.6% TS+)

How do you rate '00s Boozer as a player? Was he overrated? Underappreciated? Would it even make a difference? And if so, how much? I know these questions are impossible to answer, but how do you think it would've gone? Drew Gooden felt like a budget, off-brand version of Boozer.

[RRR3]

It definitely changes the result of multiple series. I’d imagine the Cavs win a ring if he stayed AND they still build the rest of the roster the same way but who knows if that happens? I’m not that high on Boozer, but that was an era where you didn’t need particularly strong second options to contend. Boozer wasn’t some elite low post player but LeBron being able to spam P+R with him instead of Drew Gooden or Varejao certainly changes things on offense.


Btw It was such a different era that anyone answering this needs to keep that in mind since I anticipate some saying “LeBron needs shooters” when that’s just a league wide thing now not a LeBron thing. LeBron played with two non3pt shooting bigs starting a lot of his career, which is absolutely unthinkable now. It was very common for teams to only have one modern type shooter on the floor back then. Sure LeBron had Mo Williams and Anthony Parker but he was also playing in lineups with guys like Big Z, Varejao, Gooden, Ben Wallace, old Shaq, Sasha Pavlovic, Jamario Moon, Larry Hughes, Ira Newble, Eric Snow and JJ Hickson. Even on the Heat who were ahead of their time in many ways, he generally played with two bigs who did not take 3s.

[Xiao Yao You]

awful defender and always hurt. Would have been another scapegoat for Lebron anyway

[Im Still Ballin]

It definitely changes the result of multiple series. I’d imagine the Cavs win a ring if he stayed AND they still build the rest of the roster the same way but who knows if that happens? I’m not that high on Boozer, but that was an era where you didn’t need particularly strong second options to contend. Boozer wasn’t some elite low post player but LeBron being able to spam P+R with him instead of Drew Gooden or Varejao certainly changes things on offense.


Btw It was such a different era that anyone answering this needs to keep that in mind since I anticipate some saying “LeBron needs shooters” when that’s just a league wide thing now not a LeBron thing. LeBron played with two non3pt shooting bigs starting a lot of his career, which is absolutely unthinkable now. It was very common for teams to only have one modern type shooter on the floor back then. Sure LeBron had Mo Williams and Anthony Parker but he was also playing in lineups with guys like Big Z, Varejao, Gooden, Ben Wallace, old Shaq, Sasha Pavlovic, Jamario Moon, Larry Hughes, Ira Newble, Eric Snow and JJ Hickson. Even on the Heat who were ahead of their time in many ways, he generally played with two bigs who did not take 3s.

The LeBron-Boozer PnR would be excelente, muchas gracias!

[HylianNightmare]

Would've helped allot I always wonder what could've been. Didn't he not believe lebron was worth the hype or something or am I remembering someone else's quotes from that time?

[Xiao Yao You]

Would've helped allot I always wonder what could've been. Didn't he not believe lebron was worth the hype or something or am I remembering someone else's quotes from that time?

wanted the money

[Im Still Ballin]

If Boozer stayed, Cleveland most likely makes the playoffs in 2004-05. And LeBron may have won the MVP in 2005-06 because Cleveland would've won 55-60 games instead of just 50. That probably would've given him a strong enough team record to beat out Nash. If I recall correctly, LeBron was 2nd and he and Nash were co-MVPs of the Sporting News MVP.