National Basketball Association

Carlos Boozer could of played for the San Antonio Spurs

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Many NBA players would love an opportunity to play for the San Antonio Spurs. Even an invite to workout for San Antonio would be a dream for most players.

Nov 14, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Carlos Boozer (5) is defended by San Antonio Spurs center Boris Diaw (33) at Staples Center. The Spurs defeated the Lakers 93-80. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

You can mark off former NBA player Carlos Boozer off the list of players wanting that opportunity with the Spurs.

Boozer actually declined General Manager R.C. Buford’s invite to join the team in a minicamp and the summer league team.

Spurs did not get turned down once, but twice.

Power forward Carlos Boozer didn’t play in the NBA last season but contacted the Spurs last spring and told them he wanted back in. Buford suggested he play in San Antonio’s June minicamp, but Boozer declined. “Then he was going to come for a piece of our summer league, but then he said, ‘Nah, I’m not going to do that, either,'” Buford says. “So we moved on. How can we evaluate him if he’s not playing?”

I guess he felt he was too good for both options the Spurs gave him.

True colors showed for Boozer. For a guy that felt he would be able to come right in and make a direct impact to a team, or Spurs just offering him a roster spot for that matter is ridiculous.

As we have seen with the Spurs, there are no ego’s on the team. It is a relaxed, respect one-another atmosphere, which was instilled by Popovich.

You remember when Popovich stated, players needed to check their egos at the door. Boozer must of been the one that did not hear.

A well-respected coach, five NBA titles, 19 consecutive playoff appearances, would automatically make one feel honored to even be approached about playing for, well it seemed as if that was not enough for Boozer.

Oh and by the way, Boozer ended up signing with the Guangdong Tigers in China on July 30.

(H/T Jeff Garcia, Spurs Zone)