Chicago Bulls Must Make Decision Regarding Carlos Boozer's Future in Windy City

The Chicago Bulls saw their season end on a rather disappointing note as they lost to the eighth seed Philadelphia 76ers this past Thursday evening.

They suffered two key losses during the NBA playoff series: point guard and former MVP Derrick Rose in Game 1 to a torn ACL and starting center Joakim Noah, who did not play in Game 4 due to a sprained ankle.

Despite the loss the Bulls will be a competitive team down the road due to the potential of Rose, Noah and Luol Deng along with an underrated head coach in Tom Thibodeau.

However, one area the Bulls should look to address this offseason is the power forward spot Carlos Boozer currently occupies.

Boozer averaged 13.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in six playoff games, but scored only nine points in the first two games against the 76ers while scoring only three points in Game 6.

Nothing personal against Boozer, but he underachieved in the playoffs. It could be due to just struggling with his game, but he was supposed to play like the Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz back in the day.

For some reason since signing a huge free-agent contract two years ago with Chicago, he has not been that same player.

Could it be connected to his drive as a professional basketball player?

We may never know the true answer, but whatever it is holding back Boozer is hurting the Bulls' chances of taking that next step towards contending for an NBA championship.

Trading Boozer may work, but his value is probably low at this time and the Bulls probably do not want to impact their salary cap for the next three to four years by taking on a bad contract.

It will be interesting to see what the Bulls do regarding Boozer, especially if a player does become available in free agency that may be a better overall fit.