I remember when a friend of mine told me, a few years back, that he has a friend that said Carlos Boozer wants to play in Miami. At first, I dismissed it, but he is the kind of guy that wouldn’t say such things lightly – besides, he’s a fan of another team even though he lives here in sunny Miami. Then again, Boozer plays on another team and he, too, lives here in Miami.

This was, let it be reminded, way before the story started up that Boozer wanted to be here in Miami.

But if we are to look at the true time line, this seed was planted in 2004 when Wade and Boozer played together on the USA Olympic team. Wade was just coming into the spotlight then as a rookie that helped pushed his young team into the playoffs with a scare of the Indiana Pacers in the second round.

Boozer owns a place here in Miami and lives here during the offseason. What’s  not to like? The weather, the water, the lack of a state income tax. The only question is, can Pat Riley put together the right kind of package to get Boozer on the Heat?

The Utah Jazz has the highest team payroll in the NBA at just over $84M. Surprised? Remember that the luxury tax is around $65M and the penalty is a dollar for dollar tax penalty. So the operating cost of the Jazz roster is closer to $100M. That’s incentive to shed Boozer’s contract. So, the reports that the Jazz want to oblige Boozer and trade him away are just short of stating the grass is green and trying to pass it off as news.

So we have a team looking to deal a player and that player has a strong desire to play in Miami. We also have a team on the other side of the coin that would like to see the transaction go through – but also wants to stay clear of any financial entaglements heading into next offseason. Well, the Heat have just that scenario – acquiring Boozer now would mean the Heat would retain Boozer’s “Bird Rights”. The Heat can re-sign Boozer at whatever price they want without affecting the salary cap.

Incentives all around – for Utah, Miami and Boozer.

Boozer is in the final year of his contract which has him slated to make $12.65M this season. The Heat have to match that figure in salary in order to consumate a trade. Who would be the targets?

The Heat have two perfect candidates in Udonis Haslem and Dorell Wright. Wright is owed $2.7M this year, whom the Heat have yet to see a return on their investment and if they land Odom they won’t have a strong need for Wright. Haslem is due $7.1M in the final year of his contract – but would be a tough loss for the Heat as he is the quiet leader willing to do the dirty work to get the win. He is also one of two players left on the roster from the championship team – the other is Dwyane Wade. Together, Haslem and Wright give the Jazz two young players who will be free agents next year and help them clear more space. Together, Haslem and Wright are going to cost $9.8M, which puts the transaction short by about $3M.

If the Heat can find a way to make up the difference, they may have a deal. Then again, other teams may be able to put together better packages. Then again, perhaps the Jazz realize they don’t have to do anything and keep Boozer around until the playoff push comes around and teams start overpaying at the trade deadline in February. Anything can happen and no one knows just yet.