Carlos Boozer chooses to stay with Lakers rather than request contract buyout

Last summer, the Los Angeles Lakers were determined to bring in another superstar to play alongside Kobe Bryant. The storied NBA franchise did everything within their power to make a major splash in free agency by attempting to sign both LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned for general manager Mitch Kupchak and company.

After waiting for weeks for LeBron and Carmelo to make their decisions in free agency, the Lakers missed out on many opportunities to upgrade their roster with other free agents available. Ultimately, James decided to head back home to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Anthony chose to stay with the New York Knicks after flirting with the idea of signing with the Lakers and Chicago Bulls.

With the Lakers in panic mode after missing out on the two biggest names on the free agent market and other players that could’ve upgraded the roster, Los Angeles was stuck with the limited options available.

One of those options was bringing in Carlos Boozer formerly of the Bulls. Chicago decided to use the amnesty clause on Boozer making him available on amnesty waivers. The Lakers didn’t hesitate on making a bid on the veteran power forward and were able to acquire him at the rate of $3.3 million for the 2014-15 NBA season.

Unfortunately, despite playing well as of late, Boozer is stuck on a team going nowhere. The Lakers have lost 40 games in the 53 played thus far and appear headed for the NBA draft lottery rather than the postseason. Boozer could ask for a contract buyout making him free agent and able to sign with a contender, but it appears he’s not interested in going that route, according to Eric Pincus of the L.A. Times:

According to a person familiar with the situation, Boozer will finish out the season with the Lakers instead of looking for the chance to join a postseason contender as a free agent.

Although Boozer got off to a rough start in Los Angeles, the forward has come into his own off the bench for head coach Byron Scott. Boozer has proven to still have something left in the tank after a disappointing season last year in Chicago.

Boozer’s future in the NBA remains uncertain moving forward. The veteran will become an unrestricted free agent this summer and there’s no telling whether he’ll remain with the Lakers or pursue other options in free agency.

In 52 games this season, Boozer is averaging a 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor. All of these numbers, outside of his shooting percentage, are career lows.