All Day Sports Talk

Colangelo in a tough spot

It looks like Chris Bosh is setting himself up for a 2010 exit from Toronto. All season various media outlets have speculated that Bosh would want a trade or just leave when his contract expires, and the Raptors front office has continually tried to dispel any rumors surrounding their star player.

Bosh's announcement yesterday that he intends to let his contract expire in 2010 certainly has to make General Manager Bryan Colangelo at least consider the possibility of trading their all-star power forward.

Trading a talent like Bosh, who is entering the prime of his career, will certainly bring the Raptors a big package in return. The team needs toughness up front, a scoring SG/SF, and a backup point guard. Two of these needs could potentially be fixed by trading away Bosh. Will any of the players coming back be a perennial all-star like Bosh? Probably not. The closest thing the Raptors will probably find is a player like Tyrus Thomas who has big time athletic ability, but has not quite developed into a big time player yet, and a steady, but unspectacular, forward like Luol Deng. It doesn't seem like the sexy move to make, but with the right draft choice, the Raptors could be a deeper and tougher team to play next year.

There's also the likelihood that Bosh resigns after next season. The Raptors would be able to offer him a max contract and an extra year in the deal that he will not be able to find in free agency. In this scenario, Colangelo needs to ask himself if he really believes that Bosh is an elite player worth max money, or simply a guy who fills the stat sheet on a bad team. Looking strictly at the numbers, Bosh is a 22 and 10 player who would make any coach happy. However, his spotty defense and lean frame do not give the Raptors the interior precense a team needs from a big money big man. Year in and year out, the problems on the Raptors are the same. Bad defense, bad rebounding,  no toughness, too willing to settle for jumpshots. Does the culture change if they give Bosh max money, or would the Raptors be destined for six more years of mediocrity?

Bosh is a fine player and there is a good chance in the short term the Raptors take a step backwards without him. He's probably better suited as a number two option than being the go-to guy like the Raptors expect him to be. Giving him max money would make him the franchise and that isn't necessarily a good thing for Toronto. Colangelo should look at this as a blessing in disguise and attempt to reshape the Raptors this summer.

The Big 2010 Flop?

NBA teams and fans are gearing up for the 2010 summer. Teams are trying to clear salary off the books within the next year, while fans are praying that their team might have a shot at a top tiered free agent.

Could all this hope and planning be for nothing? In the wake of the recent economic crisis, yes!

The NBA is in trouble. By now, everybody has heard of the line of credit JP Morgan and Bank of America provided the league. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The league hasn't truly felt the brunt of the economic crisis because season tickets were already paid for before the market collapsed in the fall.

Next year, I doubt season ticket subscriptions are as high. Plus, keeping the average fan in the seats will mean discounting tickets or other promotions that cut into margins. All of this equates to the 57% of league revenue that is allocated to the cap will decrease.

The players likely to get max money, like LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Pierce, Stoudemire, and Yao will be inclined to do two things: 1)resign with their current teams and 2) resign this summer. Doing this allows for two things. Firstly, by resigning with their own club, the salary cap becomes irrelevant, since teams can go over the cap to resign their own players. Secondly, the aforementioned players will all qualify for max contracts worth 30% of the cap, and 30% of this summer's cap will be more than 30% of next summer's cap.

As a fan, I do hope there's a huge shakeup in 2010, but it just doesn't make economic sense.