CHICAGO — Carlos Boozer admitted he gave the Nets some consideration as a free agent last summer. But not that much, obviously.
The Nets offered $70 million for five years, the Bulls gave $75 for five. The Nets won 12 games last season. The Bulls won 41. The Nets went to the lottery. The Bulls went to the playoffs. Where would you go?
“My agent talked to them a little bit,” said Boozer, who basically chose not to dwell on the past. “I’m not going to go backwards. The summer was the summer. I’m happy where I’m at and looking forward to moving ahead with the team I’m on. Last summer is past. I’m not going to sit here and talk about the negotiations.
“For me, Chicago has been the perfect fit and I made a good choice for me.”
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Coach Avery Johnson
acknowledged the overwhelming flood of Carmelo Anthony
reports and rumors and feels his Nets have held up well, considering the never-ending nature of the situation.
He also suggested his players not believe everything they hear and read.
“They’ve handled it we’ll,” Johnson said. “You’re always going to have rumors about something, especially with the new social media [with] Twitter, e-mail, texting. So there’s always going to be some rumors even if they’re not accurate.
“Whether they’re accurate or not, you’re always going to have some rumors,” he said. “A lot of our young guys that we’re trying to develop that supposedly are in those trade rumors, we feel we have to develop. . . . Our guys have done a nice job of locking in and focusing on what they’re doing.”
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The Nets outrebounded the Bulls, 46-43. . . . With Jordan Farmar
out (bruised right knee), Ben Uzoh
played backup point, got season-high 16 minutes but was scoreless.
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One of the first things Johnson said the Nets needed for the immediate future was health. So one of the first things he discovered as the Nets waved began this two-game trip was a new injury report that left his team shorthanded.
Troy Murphy
(viral infection) and Farmar both sat yesterday here and are out for today against the Timberwolves in Minnesota.
So the Nets will go through the two games with 10 able bodies. Farmer, who underwent an MRI exam Thursday, would “probably not” be available today, Johnson said, while Murphy was set to fly home early to New Jersey. When asked for his “to do” list, Johnson gave three elements.
“Hopefully, we’ll be a lot more healthy. Guys will learn how to play with each other, especially in breakdown situations. Three, we’ll learn how to, from experience, close out games,” he said.
They’re not off to a good start.
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Johnson had special praise for Stephen Graham
. The Nets’ defensive specialist had season high 16 points, three off career best.
“If Graham does that, he could have a long career in the league,” Johnson said. “To play the type of defense he’s been playing and now being able to put it together on offense — maybe a little bad shot here and there, but Graham is playing solid basketball now.
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Chicago’s Derrick Rose
(19 points, nine assists) heard chants of MVP when he went to the line late.
“I love it,” Rose said with a smile. “Like I’ve said, what’s the point of playing this game if you don’t want to be the best. This year I want to be MVP.”
Though the Nets made a fourth quarter charge and were within two points, Rose said the Bulls always felt in control but they just didn’t deliver knockout until late.
“Kind of. We can’t do that,” Rose. “We have to put teams away ASAP. We just didn’t do it tonight.”