It's nothing personal, Cameron Boozer, but I'm just not buying the recent buzz.
Maybe I'm something of a naysayer -- someone who sees the consensus and simply works against it. I resist certainty. I plead that we all do the same with the swirling typhoon of NBA Draft speculation in the days leading up to the actual event.
Maybe AJ Dybantsa will be the first overall pick, after all. Or maybe it will be Darryn Peterson. Both seem convinced that they'll be the name called to christen the draft night festivities, yet only one can actually be awarded that designation.
As far as we know, Washington is all-in on Cameron Boozer, a player who had been designated as the third overall pick to Memphis for months until -- would you look at that -- very recently, as we round the final corner into the home stretch of the main event.
We're in something of a silly season in the NBA. The Finals are over -- congratulations to Utah Jazz legend, Jordan Clarkson -- and no NBA hoops are being televised. The offseason can be a quiet, lonely time, so to fill the empty space, many journalists and reporters will spread rumors, reveal additional intel, and spur conversation as much as possible.
For teams like the Utah Jazz, this is exactly what they want to see.
It's becoming increasingly popular to see the Utah Jazz's name connected to Cameron Boozer, son of a former Jazzman and current scout in Salt Lake City, Carlos, and the National Player of the Year in his freshman year at Duke. More and more analysts are hopping onto the Boozer boat, and the buzz that Utah believes Boozer is their guy, and fan support of that course of action is only growing with every day.
We're getting closer and closer to the day of reckoning, and fans want to be in the know.
But all of this reminds me of exactly what happened last season, and for that reason, I'm not buying in.
Ace Bailey's representation unabashedly and repeatedly aggregated the narrative that Bailey wouldn't play for the Jazz. Pushing and pushing his name down the draft order, the Rutgers star's camp wanted to force him to Washington, and in response, the Utah Jazz's mock drafts nearly unanimously turned to one name: Jeremiah Fears.
It was the strangest thing: Fears didn't fit well alongside Keyonte George, but all the same, intel screamed that Jeremiah Fears would jump up to the fifth overall pick. Boozer's fit is likewise questionable with the current roster makeup in Utah, and for that reason, I'm skeptical.
Maybe I'll be wrong. After all, Cameron Boozer projects to be an excellent player at the NBA level. But I get the feeling this year's new release is actually a re-run, and the Jazz aren't scared off of the Darryn Peterson wagon in the slightest.
It's all smoke and mirrors until Adam Silver declares Utah's selection.
