LeBron James really started a trend. Carmelo Anthony considered the shorter deal that James signed, but then decided to take the max. Dwayne Wade originally agreed to the max, but then signed the shorter deal. And now Chris Bosh is expected to sign a three-year deal with a player option for a fourth year. Bosh has never been completely sold on the possibilities of winning a title in Toronto, but with the arrival of GM Bryan Colangelo, there is reason for optimism. It appears that Bosh is willing to give Colangelo three years to turn things around, making the power forward just 25 years-old when his contract would be up (assuming he didn’t take the player option for the fourth year). He’d still be in the prime of his career and he’d be able to sign a huge contract with Toronto or sign a long deal with a team in a better position to win a title. It was a savvy move by James (and Wade and Bosh), but there is an element of risk involved. If one of these players has a career-ending injury during the shorter deal, they would have left all that extra money on the table. In essence, they are gambling that they’ll be healthy when that next contract rolls around, so that they can cash in. I’ll bet their agents have made a few calls to Lloyds of London over the last week or so…The Suns want a decision today from John Salmons, who is deciding between Phoenix and Toronto. Maybe he’s waiting to hear about Bosh’s contract before committing to Toronto. He has to decide if he wants to come off the bench for a winner or potentially start for a team that seems to be on the rise…The rumors are still swirling about the Celtics’ persistent interest in Allen Iverson, but the Sixers apparently have a lot of options in the marketplace, which makes sense considering that AI’s contract is pretty reasonable for what he brings to the table…Cleveland’s negotiations with Drew Gooden aren’t going well; the numbers are just too far apart. Gooden is using the Nene deal as a benchmark, and it is highly unlikely that the Cavs will agree to give the forward a salary averaging $10 M a year…The Wolves finally made an offer to Marcus Banks, but I’m not sure he’s going to want to back up Mike James in Minnesota after playing pretty well as their starter last season. Maybe the Rockets, one of the teams that James spurned, would be a good fit for Banks.
