The Bulls’ signing of Pau Gasol was the writing on the wall for the end of the Carlos Boozer era on the West Side. With Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson entrenched in the Bulls’ interior, Gasol and the signing of Nikola Mirotic make it a crowded frontcourt for the Bulls. Boozer commands a high salary next season and the Bulls have decided to pay it to him without having it count against their salary cap number.The Bulls announced on Tuesday that they had used the amnesty clause to remove Boozer from the roster. Boozer enters the amnesty bidding process and could be picked up by the highest bidder for his services.

“Carlos epitomized professionalism in everything he did for the Bulls both on the court, and in the community, during his time here in Chicago,” said General Manager Gar Forman.

“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.”

The way the amnesty bidding process works is a team will need to have roughly $1.5 million in salary cap space in order to bid on Boozer. Teams submit their bids without knowing what other teams are offering up in the process. The highest bid claims Boozers and pays him that bid price for next season. If a team has a winning bid of $3 million, they’ll pay Boozer $3 million and that salary will be subtracted from the money the Bulls owes him. In the example of Boozer making $3 million because of the bid, the Bulls would owe him $13.8 million of the $16.8 million he’s slated to make next season.If nobody ends up bidding on Boozer, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent and will be free to sign with any team. Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski has Atlanta and Charlotte as early possibilities for Boozer’s next destination. Boozer left the Utah Jazz back in 2010, agreeing to a five-year, $75 million deal to join the Bulls. In four seasons with the Bulls, he averaged 15.5 points and 9.0 rebounds.