Can Danny?

With Carlos Boozer announcing that he'll opt out at the end of the year, it might be time for the Utah Jazz to look to deal the All-Star forward. There might not be a ton of interesting parties because of the threat of Boozer bolting at the end of the year, but Carlos could help a number of teams.

Philadelphia deals Elton Brand for Carlos Boozer

The Elton in Philly marriage has not worked out and when Brand gets back, he might make some sense for Utah. He's a smart big man who should click with Sloan and he's also able to switch to center which could allow Millsap to play alongside him and let AK-47 move to his more natural PF spot as well. Philly get Boozer for the year and either tries to re-sign him or they just start over again with cap space and pretend the Brand Era never happened.

The Bulls are in a rare position. They actually seem to want to dump some of their young talent for cap space. If they can get Boozer, they'd improve their team this year, have a shot at retaining Boozer and teaming him with Rose, or just letting Booz walk and clearing some cap. The question is whether Utah is interested in Deng or Hinrich or Nocioni or any of the other Bulls that would be on the block.

Carlos Boozer to Houston for Shane Battier, Carl Landry, filler.

Landry is a solid backup PF and Battier slides into the three spot with AK-47 or Millsap playing the four. It's not equal value (maybe throw in an option of the Jazz getting a pick if Boozer does re-sign with Houston) but the Jazz would get players that fit Sloan's style and help fill the roster while the Rockets add what could be a missing piece to their team. Would Houston want to give a conference rival that missing piece? Probably not, even if it is just for one year but it's a possiblity.

Boozer for Beasley

The Heat would need to re-sign Boozer for this deal to work (and no, Boozer promising to re-sign won't be enough) but Boozer seems like someone who could fit the Riley system more than Beasley. Beasley is a work-in-progress but I like the AK-47/Beasley tandem and Beasley/Deron could be one heck of a duo for years to come. The question is whether the two teams could get the salaries to work.

Carlos Boozer and Matt Harpring for Michael Redd

I personally don't like this deal but the Jazz get an elite scorer in Redd who would be their best shooting guard since Jeff Hornacek. I don't think he's worth it and believe he's vastly overpaid so I wouldn't recommend this deal but I could see it happening. The Bucks improve with Boozer taking over the PF spot and giving the Bucks an impressive Bogut, Boozer, Jefferson frontcourt. Also, they get out from under Redd's contract if Boozer doesn't re-sign.

New Jersey deal Boozer for Stromile Swift, Brook Lopez, and Yi Jianlian

Adding Boozer would make the Nets a legitimate threat in the East and with the move to New York seeming more and more questionable, they might want to make a move now rather than crossing their fingers for 2010. The risk, of course, is that they could lose both Yi and Brook for nothing if Boozer walks. The bigger flaw in this deal is that I'm not sure how interested the Jazz would be since they have Millsap and Koufos waiting in the wings. Lopez is better than Kosta but we're talking about giving up Carlos Boozer for these two. A straight-up deal is unlikely but I could see a third team swooping in to take the young Nets and possibly shipping a talented player to Utah. This three way deal opens up the door for countless other teams to get involved in the Boozer sweepstakes.

Shaq Lake City

This would never happen but the Jazz could make a deal for Shaq. Honestly, if they could move Shaq for AK-47 and filler I think both teams should consider it but I can't imagine Shaq would be thrilled with the idea of playing in Utah.

Other teams that might be interested are Cleveland, Golden State, and Charlotte but I don't think they have what it takes (either in talent or matching salaries) to make a deal work. Stranger things have happened but I'd think the Jazz would be better off holding onto Boozer than dump him to those teams.