The busy offseason for former Blue Devils continued Thursday when Carlos Boozer was claimed on amnesty waivers by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Boozer—who played at Duke from 1999-2002 and was part of the 2001 national championship squad—is the fourth Blue Devil to make a big offseason move. Kyrie Irving signed a five-year, $90-million max contract to stay with the Cavaliers, and Boozer’s former college and professional teammate Luol Deng signed with Miami for two years and $20 million.
Josh McRoberts will play with Deng in Miami, and agreed to a four-year, $23-million deal with the Heat earlier this month.
A 12-year NBA veteran, Boozer had one of his worst seasons last year for the Chicago Bulls—his third NBA team. Boozer averaged 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest, but saw his field goal percentage and efficiency plummet.
The 6-foot-9 power forward shot just 45.6 percent from the field, the worst mark of his career.
Boozer starred in Utah from 2004-2010 and had multiple good years in Chicago, but has lately become a liability on the defensive end of the floor.
With the emergence of Taj Gibson, the Bulls released Boozer earlier this week, allowing teams with enough cap space to bid in a blind auction for part of the two-time All Star’s $16.8 million contract.
Boozer will team with rookie Julius Randle, North Carolina product Ed Davis and Jordan Hill in the Laker frontcourt this season to try to redeem himself after last year’s struggles.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.