Media Watch for July 13, 2006 - Free Agent Updates

This is my take on Raptors agreeing to sign Bosh to a max money, 3 year deal similiar to that of LeBron, and DWade. Is Bosh worth the same money as LeBron and Wade? Just about everybody would agree that LeBron/Wade are better players than Bosh, and so logically for Toronto to win a championship, to get past Cleveland and Miami in the playoffs, Bosh is going to need a better supporting cast than LeBron or Wade. So it would make sense to me to pay Bosh less than LeBron and Wade, so we can use that extra money on the role players. Otherwise, with them earning the same salary and each respective team having the same amount to spend on other players, it seems like Toronto is destined be knocked out of the playoffs every year by Miami or Cleveland. Unless our GM can do a much better job much better job signing bargain free again, making shrewd trades, and drafting. So the point of this rambling comment is that I wouldn't give Bosh the max, because I'm not sure Toronto will ever win a championship with Bosh as a max money player in the same conference as LeBron and Wade.

i think the raptors should give bosh about 45-50 million for 3 years and an option on the fourth year . Bosh has already made it clear that he wants his future in the NBA to be in Toronto so i expect the deal to go down in a day or two. I think we should make an effort to sign Bonzi Wells to fill either the 2 or 3 spot to help Mo Pete out and add depth to the lineup instead of getting the unproven european prospect in Anthony Parker and Jorge Garbagosa a.k.a GARBAGE.

bosh will never be a james or a wade . let's stop the wishful thinking. he will always be a supporting cast to the 2 in the all star or olympics .unless by some miracle , bosh will grow wings or a 3rd hand , the next crop of ballers like aldridge etc will match or surpass him.
wade and james will always be special .

you try telling the kid he isn't going to get max money - and his agent. what do you think happens next? no bosh.

you guys are nuts. no, bosh isn't d-wade or lebron.

but is he worth the max? hells yes. bosh, while perhaps not a legend, is going to be one of the best power forwards in the league for the next 6 years.

history shows us that teams built around a premier power forward can win. look at the spurs and Duncan! dallas and Nowitzki! t-wolves and garnett! okay, the last one only applies to the years betweeen '02 and '04, but you get the picture.

BC is surrounding him with talent as we speak.

and if we don't want to give bosh the max, someone else DEFINATELY WILL.

I really don't understand why so many people think that the best way to build a team is to go out and get the highest profile players with the best stats. This isn't NBA Live, these guys actually have to get along (it's called chemistry)... Does anyone really think that Bonzi Wells or Al Harrington are good 'complimentary' pieces for CB4? I hope not. Besides, I think using the term 'unproven' as so many people seem to when referring to Anthony Parker is ridiculous. He's the MVP of the second best league in the world two years running and he's 31. I really think 'unproven' needs to be reserved for young guys who haven't 'proved' anything. Darko was 'unproven' but Parker is not. Throwing 8-9 mil/year longterm at Bonzi wells would be a mistake of Jerome James proportions.

Bonzi Wells would be a horrible influence on the team. He played well in the playoffs but has otherwise been an underachiever.

I do however question signing the big Euro contracts. Definitely risky, but then the risk might pay off. Pre-season should have some great battles as there is a lot of uncertainty as to who plays where and how many minutes a game.

And how long do you think it will be before Garnett loses it on Mike James for taking nineteen shots in the fourth quarter like he did for most of last season?

bosh is most likely to do a vince carter... what i mean by this is he will play good for us this season then slowly get hurt and whyn and complain untill he gets out of toronto

bosh is not vince. bosh is not vince. bosh is not vince.

I beleive him when he says he wants to play here ... but you know the lakers are gonna come a knocking when they can.

If this team isn't a contender in 3 years - I would walk away too and try my luck somewhere else.

Here's hoping this team really builds up this year.

Time will tell if Bosh pulls a Vince and whines his way out of town, but to date nothing he has shown as far as character and attitude indicates Bosh would do that.

Re: the Euro signings, they're gambles but could pay off... If Parker and Garba are productive - and as noted by others they were MVPs in their leagues, not stiffs - even for limited minutes, the Raptors will have significantly increased their team experience and wiliness without having given up any players, and without having to pay $10 million per for an equally unproven Nene or a potentially chemistry-ruining influence like Bonzi or Harrington.

It's those kinds of contracts that can hamstring a team, not the 3-year/$12-million contracts - the Raps wouldn't be saddled for years if Garbajosa and/or Parker don't pan out, so to me they're worthwhile gambles. It's certainly a lot more interesting heading into 2006-07 than it has been in a while, at least since Bosh was a rookie three years ago.

Interesting point about KG and James - KG would have had James' head the way James kept jacking up bad shots in some of last year's games. It'll be interesting to see if they get along, and how they handle the T-Wolves' first losing streak this upcoming season...

I think it's safe to say that Parker will have a better NBA career than Nate Huffman...heck, he already has.

Okay think about this, it may be unintential, but colangelo is a GENIOUS. i was also very iffy about all these euro signings, but you guys must remember we have 10-12 players that can play, not stiffs like last year, in my opinion our team has some of the best depth in the league. Now back to the 'genious', all these 'marquee' players are signing 3 year contracts to reap more money down the road. Now colangeo has positioned the team to have as few players as possible in that MONSTER free agency period. The only players that may have a contract past the 2008/09 season is possibly peterson, ford, graham, bargnani, and bosh. The players with 'inflated' contracts are either done by 07/08 or 08/09. Also all the rookie contracts are finished for the teams for this year. The class has the potiential to include our bosh, wade, lebron, pierce, garnett (i know downside of career) i think, to start. I think colangeo has put the team in a strong position to retain bosh with the cap flexibility to aquire another star, with the strong supporting cast listed above. Also, we have to factor two possibly high first rounders for the depth of team. Overall i am very pleased with the direction my beloved raptors are taking.
I want to know what you guys think of what i just said. I want some opinions, some discussion
Cheers!
Anish.

i hope bosh will stay with toronto but the likely hood of that happening is very slim