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Report: Boozer to join L.A. Lakers

Carlos Boozer has landed with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to multiple reports.

The Bulls used the amnesty provision on the burly power forward Tuesday. By using the amnesty rule, the Bulls released Boozer and are still liable for his $16.8 million salary this season, but it won't count toward the salary cap or luxury tax.

The Bulls will use the cap space from this transaction to sign Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic. Both players will be introduced Friday at the United Center.

Once a player is amnestied, teams with cap space are allowed to make blind bids to acquire that player. The minimum bid was $1.4 million. The amount of the winning bid was not immediately available. Whatever the number, that's what the Lakers will pay Boozer this season and the amount will offset what the Bulls owe him.

ESPN reported the Lakers' winning bid as $3.25 million, which means the Bulls will pay Boozer $13.6 million to not play for the team.

Boozer signed with the Bulls during the free-agent frenzy of 2010. After missing out on LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the Bulls moved quickly to add Boozer, who had been playing for the Utah Jazz, and he came at a high price.

Boozer started 280 games for the Bulls during the last four seasons. They finished with the best record in the NBA during each of his first two seasons.

His best performance for the Bulls was 2010-11, when he averaged 17.5 points and 9.6 rebounds. Last season, Boozer was at 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds, the lowest in both categories since his rookie year.

Boozer, 32, became expendable due to the improvement of backup power forward Taj Gibson, who played most of the fourth-quarter minutes, and the Bulls' desire to create some financial flexibility.

The Lakers are loading up on power forwards, with rookie Julius Randle, Jordan Hill and Ed Davis. But this appears to be a good landing spot for Boozer, other than the fact that his family lives on the other side of the country in Miami.

The Bulls tried to send Boozer to the Lakers in a sign-and-trade for Gasol, but couldn't reach an agreement. The Lakers would have been on the hook for Boozer's entire salary if he was acquired in a trade.

• Follow Mike's Bulls reports on Twitter @McGrawDHBulls.

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