Bulls Plan To Amnesty Carlos Boozer?

10:33pm:  The Bulls told Boozer it’s a possibility he will be amnestied or used in a sign-and-trade but have made no final decisions, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

10:00pm: Carlos Boozer may have played his last game in a Bulls uniform.  A source tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that Boozer’s departure is a “done deal” and says that the forward’s camp has been informed of the decision.NBA: Chicago Bulls at Orlando Magic

Under the amnesty provision, Boozer still will be paid the $16.8MM he’s due next season, but it won’t count against the salary cap.  The Bulls, of course, would have preferred to use Boozer’s expiring contract in a sign-and-trade scenario but they haven’t found any suitable offers.  The Bulls obviously don’t want to pay Boozer for nothing, but they want to reallocate that space for something better, even if it’s not Carmelo Anthony.

As we learned last night, even if they’re able to convince Melo to come to Chicago, the Knicks have zero interest in taking on Boozer in an S&T deal.  Even though others in the Knicks’ front office were warmer to the idea since Boozer’s contract could be used in a mid-season deal for someone like Kevin LovePhil Jackson didn’t want to entertain the idea.

Of course, nothing has officially happened with Boozer just yet.  The amnesty window runs from July 10th through the 16th.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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