It must be tough to be a Toronto fan right now in any sport.
Will Chris Bosh want to be a Raptor for another few years if they continue to lose?
The Maple Leafs haven’t made the playoffs in four years (second only to the Phoenix Coyotes), the Argonauts are 2-3 and had a problem with on-field personnel until they traded Arland Bruce away, and the Blue Jays have dropped a bunch of games after a hot start, so much so they went from near the top of the league to fourth in their division.
Then there’s the Raptors. With NBA superstar Chris Bosh a free agent next year, Raptors management had to show Bosh that the team could be a contender.
That might be easier said than done. They’ve only made the playoffs twice in the past seven seasons, and every time they seem to make progress, they make a bad trade or signing and take a step back.
But this year, they’ve completely revamped their roster.
Which way will he go? Will he stay or will he go?
They have added Marco Belinelli, DeMar DeRozan, Reggie Evans, Jarrett Jack, Rasho Nesterovic, Hedo Turkoglu and Antoine Wright.
But will that be enough to keep Bosh? I don’t think so, and all because of Lebron James and Dwayne Wade.
Because of the two of them also being free agents next year, a lot of teams are saving cap space to make a run at them. So what happens when teams lose out on them? To rebuild a roster, they’ll have to go after other players, such as Bosh. Would Bosh turn down a maximum contract to play in a place like New York if the Knicks don’t sign Lebron?
So if the Raptors lose Bosh, they’ll be screwed. They’ll be after building a team around someone who left, as opposed to building around a superstar who’s signed long-term.
The Raptors will be a different team on the court this year. But if they don’t do well, they’ll be a different team next year.
The Ryan Coke Experience 
You realize the Raptors can offer him $30 million more, right?
Yes, but there’s something to be said to play in a major U.S. city (such as New York). You also have to figure out if he could make more money in New York through other things (commercials, TV shows, etc.) than he could in Toronto. Plus, his profile would be higher because of more nationally-televised games.
So he could re-sign for more money in Toronto, but he could easily make more than that in a major U.S. market through other dealings.
If this is so true.
Prove it.
When has a superstar gone to New York for less
$ amount than what a smaller city would pay.
Why hasn’t the Knicks been a contender in how
many years.
Maybe you should take your head out of your @#& and look at the facts.
It will be tough for Bosh to go to a big market city like NYC that have no team to help him. Bosh in NY next year is Bosh on the Raptors before BC was GM. Not pretty. If Bosh is about the money and no championships, that’s why he’ll leave. But I don’t see that type of player. Just like Wade and LeBron. A Player’s legacy is built on championships, not money.
If Bosh leaves after this season the Raptors will have saved all that cash and will be able to offer it to a talented class of free agents that would be joining what is a very solid team even without CB4.
Mark my words.
Bosh will not sign an extension this summer but he WILL re-up with the Raptors next summer. Guaranteed. And I’m willing to drop money on that.
He will not sign an extension this summer for several reasons- the most important being that he wants to put pressure on the Raptors organization to put a winning team on the floor (and on paper, you can check that off the list). The front office did their job and now it’s up to the players. Next, Bosh wants to put pressure on himself and his teammates to win a lot of games this year. His teammates know the deal. They know they need to win and they know they need to convince him to stay by creating a winning atmosphere. And most importantly, Bosh knows that this is a big contract year for him. If he’s going to ask for a max contract, he knows that he needs to ball like a max player and leave no doubt that he is a franchise player. So by waiting until next summer to make a decision, he is putting pressure on his team, himself and other teams around the league to put their (and his) money where their mouth is.
But at the end of the day, Bosh knows 3 things. (#1) Toronto is his city. He runs this town and he LOVES this town. that is no secret. he’s been here almost half the summer when he could be spending the entire off-season at home in Dallas. he knows that if he leaves the way VC left, he can’t come back here without the same hostility. (#2) He knows how much Colangelo worked this summer to put a team around him that can do something special. That’s huge because the front office spent A LOT of money to surround him with players that can help him win and for a player, that means a hell of a lot. (#3) Let’s not overlook the recession that’s going on and the salary cap going down next season. He knows that he can get the most money by signing a new contract with the Raptors next summer.
Yes, there is something to be said about going to a US market and Bosh does love the attention. BUT as long as this team does what they’re capable of doing. As long as they win over 47-48 games (which they are capable of doing), he will be in a Raptors uniform for awhile. If the Raptors do not win atleast 47-48 games this year (with the line-up they put together) then something is really wrong with this organization.
Remember what I said.
If NY is the “promised land”, why are they having so many problems simply keeping the talent they already have?
A funny thing happens as players leave college (or high school) and make their way to the professional ranks, basketball stops being an activity and becomes a job and hopefully a career. Only the most foolish of players and the most short-sighted of writers (and zero agents) fail to acknowledge these facts. Free Agents in variably leave the team they were on for greener pastures for greener paychecks! It’s a short career and you can’t spend memories after you retire! Maybe, at the end of a financially successful career does a player pine for championships over dollars. But more than likely, at that point, the teams closest to winning can pay the most for a former star to play backup on a very good team as they’ll go into luxury tax territory.
No one who is of sound mind turns down up to $30m of their lifetime earnings so they can WORK with a “friend” or go to another city. Not even if they’ll get to put their name beside a pretty trophy! None of these guys are worth the same money doing anything else.
The biggest risk to CB4 playing for another team is BCo decides CB4 isn’t worth the max contract that he’ll have to offer to keep him! Whether or not CB4 earns that max contract should be fairly obvious after this season. No one player on the Raps will have a greater impact as to how far this team can play into the post season. BCo has to decide if CB4’s knee will hold up or are we to expect more frequent and more serious set backs. BCo has to decide if paying CB4 an average of $20m+ over 5-6 seasons will produce the same number of wins and playoff appearances as players who might be available via trade or free agency – And BCo had better make the right call. IF CB4’s knee turns him into Chris Webber within 2 seasons and the Raps are into a long term extension, the team will be in trouble for a very long time!
The lowest risk move BCo could make is to trade CB4 now for a couple of young rising players. But if the Raps want a shot at deep post season play, CB4 is the best player to take them there! the one thing the BCo has shown is that he is willing to take a risk for a shot at winning.
Remember, players come and go. No one plays forever.
It will be hard to replace CB4 for equal value in trade or by free agency, but if it comes to that, your GM can’t believe he’s screwed.