Carlos Boozer shares European offers he nearly signed in 2011 / News - Basketnews.com

Carlos Boozer was close to landing in Europe in 2011.

Credit: AP – Scanpix Credit AP – Scanpix

When Carlos Boozer heard the name Zydrunas Ilgauskas, his face lit up with a huge smile. Ilgauskas is widely regarded as one of the best Lithuanian players ever, and European basketball holds a special place in Boozer's heart.

Carlos Boozer

Position:PFAge:41Height:206 cmWeight:121 kgBirth place:Aschaffenburg, GermanyProfileNewsStatistics

Even if it included bringing coffee to Ilgauskas every morning during his rookie year in 2002-03.

"I've spent a couple summers with Big Z working on my game in summertime. He was such a good mentor when I was rookie," Boozer recalled his time with Ilgauskas in his first two years in the NBA.

"Big Z took me under his wing a little bit, showing what the NBA was about. He was such a good pro and player. I was very fortunate that I had Big Z, somebody to look up to as a rookie," he added.

Boozer is a fan of European basketball. Eventually, during the lockout season in 2011, he was close to landing in the Old Continent.

"There were a couple of teams in Greece. A couple of teams in Italy. There was a French team that was calling my agent Rob Pelinka a lot. At the time, I was really thinking about it. I was thinking about going to Istanbul," Boozer revealed to BasketNews in Salt Lake City. "One of my teammates, Deron Williams, went overseas and played a little bit."

In 2011, Williams signed a $5M deal with Besiktas. Once, he dropped 50 points in the FIBA EuroChallenge game. He even got his jersey retired in Istanbul.

"I thought about it, but then the NBA came back, we worked out on our agreement, and I ended up staying in the NBA," Boozer, who averaged 16.2 points and 9.5 rebounds in his 13-year NBA career, explained.

Boozer participated in the 15th annual NBA Cares Day Of Service, where current NBA stars (Kevin Huerter) and legends (Boozer, Gary Payton, Dominique Wilkins) repacked and sorted food donations to distribute to low-income students and families in collaboration with Utah Food Bank, Bishop's Storehouse and Volunteers of America.

Boozer was in a mood and expressed his desire to come to Europe.

"I love Europe, by the way! If you got any free tickets, let me know!" he added with a big smile.

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