Halfway through the 2008-09 season Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer announced that he would opt out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent during the off-season. Ever since, experts around the league have been speculating which teams might be interested in acquiring Boozer’s services and could offer an attractive multi-year deal.

However, unlike his previous statements Carlos Boozer decided to exercise his player option for 2009-10 and will stay with the Jazz until the end of next year. Boozer has been the franchise centerpiece together with All-Star Deron Williams and was a key contributor in the past for Utah. Moreover, Boozer and Williams both played in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing when the redemption team managed to win the gold medal. Last year in the NBA, he averaged 16.2 points and 10.4 rebounds appearing in just 37 games due to various injuries. Given the current economic climate and the fact that he will earn $12.7 million next season it appears to be a smart move by the Alaskan native.

Likewise, Utah’s starting center Mehmet Okur will also stay in Salt Lake City for another year to join Boozer and Korver who will do the same. Okur put up 17.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest last year as well as leading all NBA centers in three-point shooting with an impressive 44.7% from beyond the arc. Without any doubts, it is a relief for Coach Jerry Sloan and all Jazz fans that the core of Utah’s successful NBA team stays as it is. Although the Jazz did not make it out of the first post-season round in 2008-09, many of their problems can be blamed on the excessive amount of injuries the franchise had to go through over the past few months.

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