Changing Focus

I couldn't agree more with your analysis: the simple reality is that we aren't that close, and any belief to the contrary is mere wishful thinking.

If we trade Bosh, we at least have a hope for the future since he should bring some sort of return (at worst, he could bring Wash. no. 5 pick plus Javale McGee and salary filler, two pieces that would help us in the long term). Oh, and the best part of all is that Mike James would probably be part of the contract filler. Who can tell me with a straight face that they wouldn't enjoy watching Mike James get his by jacking 19 shatts per game?

The other player on my mind is Ricky Rubio. I love that he's throwing up a stink about not wanting to play in Memphis or OK City. It's too bad that neither team would seem to really be a great fit for CB4 and thus wouldn't be in a hurry to trade the pick based on the fear of Rubio not reporting. It would have to be one of those two teams, because there is zero chance he slips past Sactown at 4. Who knows, maybe the sociopath known as The Donald (Sterling, not Trump) would consider trading the numero uno pick to us?

All I know is that my worst fear is that we decide to bring back AP, Marion and Delfino and hope it makes us a contender: it doesn't, and it's not even close.

Colangelo has to do everything in his power to keep CB4, who at age 25, is this team's best player by a massive margin. Losing him will set this franchise back for several more years. Colangelo needs to get his head on straight and learn how to properly construct a team around this kid. Signing Jason Kapono and Jose Calderon to ludicrous contracts are the types of moves that cannot be repeated.

Must I point out that BC is also the reason why we are in this position to begin with. This roster is now almost completely his (exception being Calderon, Bosh and Ukic). The truth is he has another option besides panicing and that is staying the course. He can choose to make moves for the long term and worry about what Bosh does down the road. True, we could make the playoffs next year (by accident) lose our pick in the draft and lose Bosh, shouldn't we be taking a risk like that as more than likely making a trade with Bosh will net us nothing but long term contracts and very little talent. Isnt that a bigger disaster than letting Bosh walk next year. I just do not think that trading Bosh for anything less than a potential franchise player or 2 very good players is the right move.

I agree that Colangelo has his work cut out for him - but he set the this table and it will be interesting to see if we've already seen his best or it is yet to come. He looks pretty average so far.

As to Bosh - what team in the final four (or even 8)this year has traded away its best player in his prime at any time in the past in order to get better in the long run? I don't believe that is the way to go unless you are throwing in the towel and setting a new five year plan in place.

very good read,let me start off by saying that at first when you guys mention that the raptors should trade bosh, i was thinkin you guys have really gone off the deep end, but when i took a closer look at the team you guys are actually making sense, the raptors are so far off from being a contender, and the the team have so much holes to fill this summer that its very unrealistic that all the problems can be fix this summer. I cant see cb4 sticking around after this summer, so why not trade him? and get something for him while you can im sure bc will get a lot of takers,but in any event i dont think hes worth max contract and the raptors shouldnt overpay him cause hes not worth it, i think he a good talent dont get me wrong but hes a second option on a good team, this team is such a mess right now that trading bosh is prolly the best thing that bc can do going forward.

The perpetually bad teams are always trading away their best players to reset their course. Team improvement has to be viewed relative to other teams in your division/conference. The rebuild/five year plan is fool's gold because one cannot project the fortune's of other teams in that period. Were the Celtics competitive three years ago? The Trailblazers took ten years to reach the playoffs again. I will always take the known over the unknown. Bosh is a known commodity and very good. Why trade "very good" for "hopefully good in a couple of years."

Also, I don't understand people's fascinations with players from Golden State. Why trade Bosh for players from an organization that has had a losing culture for a while? If the goal of the trade is to stand a better chance at winning, get winning players -- Utah and Detroit are two teams entering interesting phases that could offer compelling short and long term pieces for a player like Bosh.

Interloper -

Agreed on the GS comment. What people seem to forget is that no team is going to trade for CB4 unless he agrees to a long-term extension. Otherwise no team will make the deal. I can't see Bosh upping in GS.

Ian: Not to nitpick...but the Lakers traded away Shaq in his prime. The Cavs lost Boozer for nothing...and the Magic traded away McGrady, argualbly in his prime too. So there is some precedent on good teams trading away stars. However, LA and Orlando have had no trouble retaining stars either, which cannot be said for Toronto. So maybe keeping a star that wants to be here would be a wise idea.

Interloper -

Agreed on the GS comment. What people seem to forget is that no team is going to trade for CB4 unless he agrees to a long-term extension. Otherwise no team will make the deal. I can't see Bosh upping in GS.

Cleveland and LA falter in playoffs. Bosh sees himself as he missing piece either for Lebron or Kobe. Asks to be traded. Who do you take: Odom and addons, or Varejo and addons?

A trade revolving around Varejo? Really? He's a garbage man. The Cavs have nothing decent to offer for a borderline top 10 player.

I have jumped on again off again on the trade Bosh talk. Think I earned the wrath of many when mid-season I was for exploring options for Bosh.

Are we last season's Miami Heat? When Jose went down we were unprepared to handle his minutes? Will a healthy Jose push us back to a 4-6 place Eastern team. Are we jumping the gun on trading Bosh?
The offer, coming in the off-season, would have to blow me away.

Mr Probert-
Just want to say that in the second half of the season, Bargnani was our best player.

i know its a bit crazy...but how about Bosh+ Kapono/Banks for Tmac (maybe even a little von wafer)...then waive Tmac and we got that huge salary off the books

Houston gets a legitimate other player and a really great chance of winning it all ... Brooks + Battier + Artest+ Bosh + Yao= devastating

Would love for someone to clarify this... I believe I read somewhere that Bosh (and the rest of his class that signed similar deals) would severely limit his earning potential by signing an extention this summer. This is due to the fact that his current deal has not expired yet. His current deal is actually 4 yrs with an Ealry Termination Option (Player ETO) next summer. So Bosh (again like Wade and James) CAN NOT sign an extension this summer without nullifying his current deal and giving up his "Franchise/Larry Bird" rights... The debate in regards to Bosh truely being a "Franchise Player" notwithstanding... If this is ineed the case (anyone a CBA contract expert??) basing the rationale/logic for trading Bosh based on his appetite or lack thereof for re-upping this summer is fundamentally flawed.

I still don’t understand why you would trade away your best player for a bunch of long term contract and unproven players. Why? Because it not worth the Max and if he does get the max, the Toronto Raptors will be in a financially struggle for the next 5 years. If that the case we will never get a star player to come to Toronto. Because he knows he will never get paid...right base on some people logic of trading CB4.

Ok let see what realistic trading option is out there for Bosh;

Heat - Beasley package. Kid got talent but has a work ethnic issue, no defense and still toddler between the SF/PF. He either undersize or two slow. Not a great pick-up but ok if CB4 has to go.

Bulls - Deng Package - Probable the best of them all but we don't want an injury prone SF to be the center piece for an All-Star. Do we???
Kirk and Noah are good role players but that it, no potential All-star.

Warriors - Beans package. Beans is stats stuff with questionable defense. Also he is a product of a system. Below Average defender, good rebounder, ok on offense. Randolph, good prospect but a big what if? Still skinny and needs lot of time to develop. The rest for this package not even worth mentioning; Jackson too old, Crawford probable we can get him for free, C.M...Fat, overpaid LMAO. The rest borderline role/bench players at best.

Wizards - Butler package. Not likely to happen. No need to go in details.

I think it best to keep CB4 and hope BC is the Lego master he is to put a better team around CB4 and sees what happen.

I agree howland, though I don't fear the idea of bosh just walking all that much if it's because there is no player available that's worth spending the money on right now.

The cap space saved with bosh walking should be used to get a true franchise player, preferably an sf or sg even if takes another year.

We've already fallen off the treadmill and risky aging vets (JO,SM) and frustrating hand-me-downs (JM, CD) are not good enough- we need to hold out for a susperstar and if bargnani turns out to be one as well, we'll be in good shape.

Unfortunately I don't know if BC, the team, or the fans have the patience really.

so if bosh walks:

1) we'll have cap room, we could just buy talent now. cause they would love to play for toronto right? ok no, many players dont wanna play here, if we do try to sign a good player were likely gonna have to overpay. and the contract would be much longer. now if u wanna sign a couple of good players with potential then wouldnt it be the same in trading bosh for decent players, with less amount of years on their contract with maybe some draft picks, cause i know that if we sign these decent players with potential their conracts will also be much longer.

2) sign and trade bosh. ok so now we pay more and we get more in return. now what do you all think we'll get back in return. you want an all-star, fine a team will give an all-star past his prime cause, like you all say, why would they trade their best player in their prime. or maybe trade him for a bunch of good player with potential and fillers right?

i say we should trade him now. this team will not win this year and bosh is likely gonna test the market. we all dream that this team will finally get it and win, but thats what it is a dream. if bc is serious about keeping bosh, he would bring vets in and sign players that contribute in the short term like howland said (that pic of hoffa haunts me) now if this team still ends up short, next year were gonna have to start all over. at least now trading bosh would just help the future of this franchise, were not winning with him (plus contract is big) so i dont see the downfall in trading him.

The last time this team spent money in the hopes of retaining its best player, we ended up with bloated contracts to Antonio Davis, Alvin Williams and Jerome (JYD) Williams; remind me again how that turned out?

Rob

Hey, I was thinking last night. What's the possibility of getting Pau and Ariza from the Lakers for Bosh? We would have the Spanish connection plus a pretty good Italian.

If Bosh doesn't commit to the team by signing an extension this summer, I’d start the season with the team as is including whatever additions BC makes, evaluate the team’s results at the end of January, and if we’re playoff bound then keep Bosh for the remainder of the season and try to convince him to stay. If we’re bad, really bad, trade him for whatever good players/contracts we can get, understanding that we’re only getting 25% on the dollar but even that is better than losing him for nothing. If we can’t find a trade that we like, then we let him walk for nothing. I think it’s the only logical approach.

Someone mentioned y the fascination with GSW players when their team is worse than ours. Well, they have players with the skills our team lack, I wouldn’t be interested in many of their players but we could use a couple. For eg. Do we currently have a better slasher than Monta Ellis? Do we currently have a better rebounder than Biedrins? Do we currently have a better leader than S. Jackson? Do we currently have a better prospect then A. Randolph? Do we currently have a better perimeter defender than Azubuike? I’d take any two of those players in a trade before I let Bosh walk in 2010 for absolutely nothing.

Oh and Gasol & Ariza for Bosh is actually not bad if we absolutely had to trade Bosh. Throw in J Farmer and I'd do it. If we could keep Bosh that would be better than having Gasol and Ariza tho.

2nd Raps fan in LA, are you putting Bosh at the same level as AD, Junk Yard Dog, and Alvin Williams?

Or are you implying the only way to keep convince Bosh (and any of our franchise players) to re-up is to overpay a bunch of washed up role players?

A bit random here but anyone realize that if Marion walks we're left with ZERO small forwards? BC had A LOT of work to do. I bet that second pick is going to be for a SF: Danny Green, Tyler Smith, Sam Young, Summers, even Cunningham wouldn't suprise me

I'm going to have to disagree with the HQ on this one.

We have a good young core in Bosh (25), Bargs (23) and Calderone (27), plus some decent young bench players in Pops, Humphries and Ukic (all 25 and under). Never mind the trades. Resigning Bosh is of the utmost importance because if these trade suggestions are any indication, we are not going to get anything worth while in return.

Though I do admit I'm intrigued by the Gasol/Ariza trade. I'm a big fan of both players and believe we have yet to see the best of what Ariza has to offer. I don't think L.A. would go in for that trade though.

I am willing to suffer through a few more crummy seasons if it means we develope a team properly. This "we need to win now" attitude is killing this franchise as quickly as some of these bad contracts we have.

Never mind groaning at the thought of "rebuilding" the franchise. It's not rebuilding, it's building. To say we are rebuilding would suggest we are tearing down something that was once there. Let's be honest, it wasn't.

I don't agree with BC when he says we are not that far off, but I do have hope for the future ofthis franchise. As long as we have a little patience.

If Bosh can be resigned at a reasonable price (and I think he can be), I think we have a good chance to build a solid franchise for years to come.

I hate to burst everyone's bubble but I think that Interloper is right in that you cannot trade your franchise player without admitting that you have to start over.
Casey - i found it Ironic that the 3 teams (you mentioned) that traded away their franchise players are also teams that were, for the most part, lost in the wilderness after the fact. I know you were addressing Ian Johnson (whose arguement was too general)when you posted but:
1. Magic traded McGrady almost 5 years ago and didn't make it out of the 1st round until this year when he was out with injury. Also, a better example for Orlando of trading/letting walk, of a franchise player was Shaq. Where were they after he left?
2. Cavaliers needed to get lucky in the draft after they let Boozer walk. Where would the cavs be without Lebron?
3. Lakers -
a)One could argue that Shaq was no longer in his prime when they traded him.
b)Although the team didn't become lottery fodder, they were for all intents and purposes, irrelevant until they bilked another franchise of their franchise player. It was so bad that Kobe was demanding to be traded.
c) Also had the luxury of another franchise player on the roster they could rely on until they lined their ducks up in a row.

The real issue here is that if you look throughout the history of the NBA, trading your franchise player away has more often led to disaster than it has to playoff glory. I also grudgingly agree that allowing them to walk as a free agent isn't exactly a recipe for success(boozer). I can only think of a few examples where it worked.
1.NY Knicks - in what is known now by the SG as the Ewing Factor, NY traded away their franchise player and went on to an NBA final. The problem starts though with the arguement about whether or not Ewing was still a franchise player at that point and NBA trade rules were different then (salaries didn't have to match).
2. Denver Nuggets (suprised Casey didn't bring this one up). Nuggets catapulted themselves into the relevancy by trading away I(verson). Again problem with that is that Iverson is no longer a franchise player (unless he goes to Europe).
3. phoenix - Traded away Joe Johonson in a sign and trade and got back Boris Diaw and 2 1st round draft picks. Diaw ended up being much better than advertised. Not sure who the GM was who made that deal for Phoenix.
If anyone can think of a recent situation where a team has trade away their so called "franchise" player and had success within 2-3 years, please feel free to point it out.

Ok, I admit that I would rather listen to Jack than Leo. Here's a good reason why.

Leo was just on ESPN.com doing a chat and was asked the following:

Jesse (Toronto, ON): Who do you see the Raptors drafting with the 9th pick?

Leo Rautins: (11:12 AM ET ) This is a tough pick. There's a lot of players that I think between 5-20 that there isn't a great amount of separation. To have the 10th pick is a tough one. The most obvious need right now for the Raptors is a backup point guard. There are a couple of good ones that may be around -- Ty Lawson, Johnny Flynn. The Raptors have a lot of needs, but that is one that they may be able to address with the 10th pick.

Hmmmm....yeah....considering there are no swingmen (other than JK) under contract and we have the NINTH pick.....

Ugh.

If Leo thinks the Raps need point guard help, why not go after Ramon Sessions. He can play a little 2, but would be a great change of pace point. The Bucks will not likely be able to afford him, and I believe he could be had for below the mid-level... but I suspect many teams will be trying to woo him with their mid-level... I would love to see him here!

I am going to have to side with Posterized. Well said.

Leo rautins is a joke. as long as this guy is the coach of team canada they not going anywhere. i had a dream and lebron sign with the raptors in 2010 now imagine if that happen
lebrom+bosh+calderon= championships

Brasky, I was addressing the point that BC should do "whatever it takes" to convince CB4 to re-sign; and my point was that we already lived that nightmare with Vince Carter. In order to convince him to re-sign, Grunwald went out and signed the players I mentioned above (Williams, Davis and JYD) to ridiculous contracts. It's true that Vince re-signed with the team, but those contracts handcuffed the Raps and we stopped being competitive. Vince forced his way out and we still had those terrible contracts on the books.

The overall point is that BC would do well in serving the needs of the team and not Bosh; which means not overpaying for diminishing products like Marion and others just to try and woo Bosh. The goal is a CHAMPIONSHIP not the retention of a player just so we can go on losing in the first round of the playoffs every year.

Rob

Howland,

I agree about Rautins. It's unfortunate that he is kind of the face of Canadian basketball right now. From mismanaging players and situations on team Canada, to stupid quotes like the one you pointed out, he's kind of an embarrassment.

Mobchester,

Thank you for pointing out the espn trade machine a post or two ago. I had a blast with it. I increased the Raptors by 21 wins by trading Chris Bosh and Jason Kapono for Lebron James and Delonte West. Move over BC.

That would be the only trade for Bosh that I would sign off on.

anyone who did not watch the champions league barcelona beat manu 2-0. anyways am i the only who thinks lebron get away with too too too many superstar calls, like the one against pietrus with .5 on the shot clock he fully slipped and he got a call what a bush league.

I wanted to explore what the difference in quality of the team would be if we traded Bosh compared to keeping him for the upcoming season.

Option 1 - We keep Bosh and enter next season with the following line up:
Bargs/O’Bryant/Jawia
Bosh/Pops/Hump
Marion/Earl Clark
Delfino/Kapono/WayneEllingtn
Calderon/VeteranFA/Roko/Banks

Option 2 – We trade Bosh & Banks to GSW and sign and trade Marion & Hump for David Lee:

Bargs/Turiaf/Obryant
David Lee/Pops/ Jawia
Azubuike/Earl Clark
Ellis/Delfino/KaponoEllington
Calderon/Veteran FA/Roko

Which team would you rather watch? Which team wins more games?

Leo maybe didn't get the Raptor's biggest need right but a good backup last year would have been nice. Watching Orlando play, I have to say that Courtney Lee impresses me and he was available when the Raps picked Hibbert. Hindsight is always so good.

[ " Franchise and I have come to be on the same page in regards to CB4 which is unusual to say the least. If this summer BC offers him an extension (at a fair price) and he declines, then the Legomaster needs to extract as much value as he can from the situation by dealing Bosh sooner rather than later. " ]

This is where I get confused. In a normal sporting world (or as it might have been), it’s imperative that your "top dog" be retained when it comes to contract time. Especially if that franchise guy has been there since Day One – it just seems to lend legitimacy to the whole operation. And in an almost perfect world, we’d sign and trade Bosh, and get back something good. Sounds logical to aim for the former, and settle for the latter – if the cards deal it that way.

This is where I find logic breaking down. If we trade Bosh, then I believe we need to acquire matching salaries. If the players are equivalent – cough cough – then this perfect model continues on. Which means, stop reading this comment, and go find that yellow brick road.

If the players are not as good, then why take on salaries that might stretch too far into the future. Why not just wait until 2010 and use Bosh’s salary amt to get us a few top notch free agents. I really think economics will play a bigger part in 2010, then it does now.

Add a good draft this time, with varied needs allowing a choice more on talent, then on one specific position. A draft choice that has no emphasis on choosing an NBA ready player, but more on the best upside. Use that cash we have to add a 1st round pick in 2010 (BC will have a better chance next draft – the economical thing), and away we go. Andrea and Jose would have one more year of grooming, with possible improvements from Ukic and a properly tutored Pops. Who knows.

On this train of thought, I find myself inclined to believe that Bosh is not worth resigning. Sure, I’d like him to stay. But no way in hell he takes a discount to stay with the Raps. It’ll take mega bucks to keep him happy here – and I’m not implying he’s a greedy player – but the truth is, Bosh would have the opportunity to control his destiny, and get paid el primo dollars doing it. The New York lights would look good in his videos too {tweet tweet}. Plus he can hang out with Letterman. Bright lights. Bright nights. As Yoda might say .... Strong it is ... the power of the Dark Side.

I almost hate myself for wanting to say goodbye to our 6 year guy, but unless the Miracle man shows up and presents us with a 16-18 mil per, 3 year contract with an team option on the 4th, I think we stay on the course. Gain experience for the definite guys ahead, and add more distinct parts to the whole - at a pace with more reasonable expectations.

29:

The rub on bosh is his max contract. A lot of us agree we are better off with somebody not as good but makes less money. Lee fits into that picture and he is possible to target unless say David West or Al Jefferson.

I doubt GS would give up both Ellis and Azubuke and draft pick for bosh(bosh only has one year left on his contract, different story if his contract is longer). Bosh for sign and trade Lee and NY's pick is definitely possible since NY want to recruit LeBron and having bosh on the team is a great selling point.

RapthoseLeafs,

Agreed, 16-18 million is a very fair price for Bosh. Any more and we could be looking at a Minnesota Kevin Garnett type of situation.

Apparently Bosh posted on his website that a big announcement is coming Monday. What that will be is anyone’s guess but it probably has nothing to do with him re-signing with the Raps. BC is in Chicago for the NBA’s pre-draft camp and is going to be meeting with Henry Thomas, the agent for Bosh and AP, while there. I’m guessing the discussion will be more of a "feeler" than anything in terms of trying to see where the various parties stand. The real negotiations of course won’t take place till after the draft is well done.

Speaking of the draft, would love to be in Chicago right now to see the evaluation process of the various prospects but in any event, it sounds like Toronto will have players in next week so we’ll try to be on hand for those. The Raps have been busy attending multiple team events outside of this camp though in order to get a look at prospects like Darren Collison and others who are probably late first-round picks. If any of these players are high on BC’s interest list based on previous scouting, and some fall further than he expects, perhaps he purchases an additional pick to snag one of them.

And yesterday, Chad Ford released his newest mock draft on ESPN.com. For those who don’t pay ESPN Insider in order to see a cut and paste job (nice work by their editorial staff to have the Hawks selecting Ty Lawson only using the paragraph on Jeff Teague from the last mock draft to describe Lawson), Ford has Jrue Holiday climbing the draft charts possibly going as high as four now to Sacramento. And while he still has Tyreke Evans as the Raptors’ choice at 9 (unlike what spot Leo Rautins would have you believe they’re drafting at), he also mentions that Holiday could be an option for Toronto as well.

I’ll be talking more about this soon but I think Holiday is the key to Toronto’s draft success. If he jumps into top 5 or even top 7 consideration, that pushes someone else down and hopefully it means an Evans, Harden or DeRozan drops to the Dinos’ spot.

Curious to see what the news will be about. Don't see it be anything on court related.

As far as the whole trade bosh scenarios I'm really going back and forth on it. Logically I understand the benefits of using an major asset to acquire a number of assets. To spread the wealth so to speak.

My concern is, is it ever good to trade away your teams best player? Can anyone site an example where this actually worked to a teams benefit? I can't think of one.

Also, what kind of signal does this sent to the rest of the league. I think Toronto has to stop this cycle of losing it's best players in order to send a clear signal to the league that we're committed to building a winner.

Jas -

That's a good point about trading your best player and I find myself coming back to time and time again. Yes Bosh migh not be worth a max deal in terms of his production, but in order to send a message about keeping top players, not to mention solid community citizens, might that not be the cost - a max deal? You don't want to get into a Bucks type situation where you have to continuously overpay to keep solid but not star players, thereby setting the precedent that Toronto is a place just to "pass through."

Last thing you want is to draft a Tyreke Evans, have him become a star, but immediately after year 1 the "he's going to leave just like Bosh" talk start up.

The best message to send is WINNING, and that's how you end up keeping your top players. Signing Bosh to a max deal to show that we can keep our stars and then continue in mediocrity is a farce. The point is to win championship(s), and teams win championships not individual players (JUST ASK LEBRON).

The Raptors should trade Bosh IF it makes sense for the team in its quest to win the O'Brien trophy. That's the only question that should be asked when deciding which way to go; not whether there is a message to be sent to the community or the NBA writ large. I mean what's the point of signing Bosh to a max deal if it hinders the team in adding the other pieces necessary to make a deep playoff run???

Some people here seem to sentimental about Bosh or players in general. The Raptors are in the business of winning a championship, and to do so they may have to move Bosh to get a better OVERALL team; think in terms of the Pistons after Grant Hill left.

Rob

2nd Raps, I couldn't have said that better. Some fans are "married" to players and don't see the busisness side of things. I'd rather have a group of lesser talented players than Bosh that make the overall team better than having Bosh at all cost but the overall talent level of the team sucks bec we can't afford anything else but D leaguers. I'm not for trading Bosh, I'd actually like to keep him. I am however ABSOLUTELY against the idea that letting him walk in 2010 for nothing is okay. I wouldn't risk it and thats y if he doesn't sign an extension this summer, I'd trade him for whatever we can get.

Just to be clear. I am certainly not married to any player. If you can trade Bosh and get better I say do it.

However, I can not think of a recent situation where a team has moved it's current star, and reloaded through the trade. I think because of contracts needing to match up the best you can hope for is a couple of good developing players and a bad expiring contract.

Look at teams that have recently moved said stars. Minnesota (Garnett), Seattle (Allen), Philly (Iverson), Toronto (Carter), New Jersey (Kidd, Jefferson), Clippers (name a player), Memphis (Gasol), LA (Shaq), Miami (Shaq),

Can anyone site an example where it's worked out for the team immediately? I don't mean that to be challenging, I just can't think of one.

By trading Bosh, we are looking at a rebuild, not a retool. Because that's when we start complaining that we don't have that one star to get us over the hump.

Jas, what do you propose we do if Bosh doesn't sign an extension this summer? Where will this franchise be if he walks away next summer? will we be in a better position than if we traded him today for some talent?

If there is a lesson to be learned by teams, its build quickly and with purpose once you've identified your key building block(s). How long have we known that Bosh was more then just another starter? He put up 17ppg and 9 boards in the 04-05 season(his second as a Raptor). Let's say by the end of that season we knew that both he was significant AND he was ready to contribute in the here and now. Its been FOUR seasons since then, comprising the balance of his rookie deal and the first two years of the extension he signed. He's going into his last guaranteed year, and that next contract is going to be about the NEXT 4 years. His first extension was all about showing loyalty to the team, and maximizing his financial options. We maxed out his salary and he resigned instead of taking the one year qualifying offer. This next contract is about securing a place to play were he can be successful as he enters his prime years. As he took a look around the locker room after the last game, do you think he was optimistic about playing with these guys for the next few years, let alone next season? I sure as hell wouldn't. Would you?

IMHO, the best player personal moves are about being in the right place at the right time. There's no real way to forcast these kinds of things ahead of time. All you can do is maximize what you can control (right picks, no bad contracts, develop young players, sign veterans that fit where team is going) and stay ready, so that when opportunity comes down the pipe, you have the assets and flexibility to make something happen. Boston did that when they acquired Ray Allen. That was the domino that allowed them to reel in the big fish, Garnet. If they don't have the 5th overall pick, Al Jefferson and others, none of that happens.

They resigned Pierce, true, but they resigned him with the mutual understanding that the team wasn't in "win now" mode, but "win soon". Pierce couldn't have known then that the team would have the chance to make the monumental additions that justified a change in course. Pierce showed faith and got lucky. That doesn't mean that everyone that shows faith will get lucky, nor that its a sound strategy without demonstrable progress to support it. The last time we had major cap space, we invested it in three players incapable of helping us in the long term (Garbs, Parker, Rasho). We were sold on the chance of a free agent bonanza in 2009. Well here we are and I don't see it.

We had our chances (2006 offseason, 2007 MLE, 2009 offseason, JO deal (incoming). Had things gone our way, either through luck or better execution, we'd be the team that Bosh is glad to resign with, a top six team in the East on an upward performance curve. A team with major pieces in place, just trying to find the right mix of players to balance out the bottom of the rotation / roster.

None of this came to pass. If Bosh resigns, it'll be a show of faith. Ideally, there would be an understanding that the immediate goal is accumulating players capable of growing with the team and not just cutting corners (ie trading picks) to get us out of bad contracts and into the playoffs next year. A continued upward curve is desirable, a short term spike in wins...been there, done that.

Given the players on the roster right now, we'll only be firing on all cylinders once Bargnani has hit his stride, in terms of his all-around game. I see that being maybe two years off. That would give him two years with Calderon (11-12, 12-13). That is why I question keeping Marion on a 3 or 4 year deal. Why not draft someone who can bring SOME of what Marion does, on a longer time frame (ie rookie deal + first extension). It would be nice if they can contribute now, but they MUST be present and improving later.

Jas, each time those trades were made, it signaled an end of an era on the part of those teams. Given the state of the roster around those players, there was a sense that they'd gone as far as they could with that particular edition of the team. That doesn't mean every team took a flamethrower to the roster, and tossed the keys to kinds barely out of high school.

Reload: Philly, New Jersey, LA, Miami

Rebuild: (aka scorched earth): Minnesota,Seattle, Memphis
Dysfunctional: Clippers

Reloading could very well be one step back, for two steps forward. I like the way New Jersey's gone about dismantling "The Big Three" without everything going to hell. Complaining about that big star to get over the hump...not from where I sit. I'm willing to be patient if it means a chance at a team capable of getting beyond the second round CONSISTENTLY.

Sorry about the super long post guys. It was hard to get my bearings until that last review screen, when its too late for slash and burn editing :-)

Anyone got ESPNU? My brother watched the draft combine today and said T. Williams was clearly the best SG. Struggled at time with his shot but was fast. strong and intense. Can anyone else give an opinion on the combine? I love my bro but he's no basketball analyst.