Bulls use amnesty provision on Carlos Boozer

Tap here to access our NBA Tracker, which includes offseason rumors, trades and signings.

After four seasons, Carlos Boozer's time with the Chicago Bulls is officially over.

Boozer and his agent Rob Pelinka were reportedly informed of the decision on Tuesday morning, and Bulls general manager Gar Forman subsequently published a statement addressing the move.

Per NBA.com:

Carlos epitomized professionalism in everything he did for the Bulls both on the court, and in the community, during his time here in Chicago. Over the last four seasons, Carlos’ productivity helped elevate our team to another level.  I have nothing but respect for Carlos, and certainly wish him the best as he moves forward.

By amnestying Boozer, the Bulls have cleared about $12 million in cap space, the amount needed in order to sign Nikola Mirotic and - more importantly - Pau Gasol, who is reportedly on the verge of signing a three-year deal with the franchise worth more than $22 million. However, the Bulls will still be forced to pay Boozer the $16.8 million left on his salary for the upcoming season.

Furthermore, it hasn't taken any time for "early favorites" to emerge in the pursuit of the 32-year-old power forward.

Any team that hopes to sign Boozer will need to have $1.448 million in cap space to submit a bid. The team with the highest bid will receive Boozer and be on the hook for the amount of the bid, which will also count against the salary cap.

Tuesday also saw the Bulls waive power forward Lou Amundson, small forward Ronnie Brewer, and point guard Mike James.