Tag: Chris Bosh (Page 21 of 27)

Poll: Does a Cavs championship mean that LeBron will re-sign?

Every so often we examine the results of our weekly poll. Last week, we asked the following question, and 204 readers responded. Here are the results:

(Click on the picture for a bigger version.)

I’m a little surprised that almost a quarter answered that a Cavs championship would lead to LeBron’s departure because it seems counter-intuitive. If winning is the most important thing, and he just won a title with this roster, why would he bolt?

I understand the argument that he would have just brought a title to Cleveland, so now he can leave, but this isn’t a prison sentence, is it? The idea is to win multiple championships, right? Why start over somewhere else?

If the Cavs do win the title, I can only see LeBron leaving if he, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all agree to take a little less money to meet up in New York, and that scenario is a longshot at best.

What are the chances of a sign-and-trade for Bosh?

Even if he leaves Toronto, Chris Bosh says that he plans to stay in contact with Bryan Colangelo throughout the free agency process.

“No matter what happens, me and Bryan agreed to work together,” Bosh said. “I think that’s important. I respect him as a GM and he respects me as a player. No matter what you do, you always want to do good business in this league. We’re always going to talk.”

Colangelo had similar things to say.

“There are certain things we’ll be pursuing in the coming months that might address things on our team with or without Chris. We remain Chris Bosh’s best option to maximize his contract potential” (referring to sign-and-trade)

“We have agreed that regardless of whether or not he stays, we’ll be working together and talking. We’ll be assessing what options we have but it’s not often that a young athlete walks away from a significant amount of money and that’s the difference between him working for us and…doing a sign-and-trade.

This has been the fallback option for Raptor fans who liked the idea of the team keeping Bosh through last February’s trade deadline. It does make some sense for him because Toronto can sign him to an extra year which means more long-term security and bigger raises over the life of the contract. Conversely, if he agrees to a sign-and-trade, it needs to be with a team that has assets that would be deemed expendable given his arrival (i.e. Miami trading Michael Beasley because they play the same position, or the Knicks executing a sign-and-trade with David Lee, whom they wouldn’t re-sign if Bosh were headed to New York). Otherwise, why would Bosh agree to fleece his new team of most of its good, young assets when he can sign with the team outright?

If Bosh does execute a sign-and-trade with a team like Miami that has the cap space to sign him free and clear, one would have to question Bosh’s sincerity when he says he just wants to win. If that were the case and he were headed to Miami anyway, he should sign a five-year deal (instead of a six-year deal) and allow the franchise to keep the rights to Beasley which then could potentially be flipped for another good player. (The Lee scenario is different because he would be a free agent anyway and wouldn’t be back if the team were to sign Bosh outright, so they’re not really losing anything asset-wise.)


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What’s the worst-case scenario for the Knicks?

New York Post columnist Peter Vecsey isn’t optimistic about the Knicks’ chances in free agency, and he’s not afraid to say so.

Shows what kind of jagged competition the Knicks are in for this summer when the free-agent grab bag unties. If LeBron James isn’t game to accept almost half of their $33 million surplus, you can kiss off Dwyane Wade, too.

Where will that leave the Knicks? Chris Bosh is next in line. As good as he is, he has not been good enough to take the Raptors anywhere worthwhile (two first rounds) in this, his seventh season. He is better defensively than David Lee, but across the stats sheet, there’s not a discernable difference, and Toronto might get best of that deal. Bosh is a perfect Poncho to Cisco in Miami.

Vescey goes on to predict that Joe Johnson will re-up in Atlanta, that Amare Stoudemire and Mike D’Antoni wouldn’t click, that the Grizzlies will match any offer for Rudy Gay, and that the Knicks would be “lucky” to get Carlos Boozer.

In the final analysis, the Knicks may have to “settle for” re-signing Lee. Something they had better do as soon after July 1 as possible . . . before the Nets lock him up and he becomes a perennial All-Star alongside Brook Lopez . . . and they are stuck adopting unadoptable free agents.

I’m not as down on the Knicks’ chances of striking gold as Vescey seems to be. Let’s not forget that they play at Madison Square Garden in the media capital of the world and that they’re coached by Mike D’Antoni who plays an up-tempo system that players seem to love.

I could see the Knicks being in a situation where they’re hoping Memphis doesn’t match their offer for Rudy Gay and praying that David Lee is willing to come back after all the Knicks have put him through. I can also see a scenario where LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all take a bit less money to play for a title year in and year out in NYC. There’s no team that has a greater upside/downside as the Knicks this summer.

Let’s assume LeBron sticks in Cleveland and Wade stays in Miami. The next best duo would be Joe Johnson and Chris Bosh. Not bad. Let’s say Bosh goes to the Heat, then the Knicks could get Johnson and Stoudemire (or Boozer). Again, not bad. What if Johnson sticks in Atlanta or bolts to the Bulls, Clippers or Nets? Then, the Knicks are looking at Gay and Stoudemire/Boozer. Could be worse.

The funny thing is that while the Knicks are waiting on Bosh/Stoudemire/Boozer, someone (like the Nets, as Vescey said) could swoop in and snatch up Lee.

Is it a bad thing that I’m more excited about free agency than I am the postseason?


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Where will Wade sign this summer?

Looking for a few different takes on whether or not Dwyane Wade is going to re-sign with the Heat? ESPN’s Free Agency Dime has a nice overview of all of their analysts’ opinions about where Wade will land this summer.

The consensus seems to be that Miami has the best bet of re-signing him, but that the Bulls are the next most likely option. Personally, I think the Heat will sign/acquire Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire or Carlos Boozer and re-sign Wade. If the Cavs lose in the Eastern Conference Finals, or even in the Finals, then LeBron is the darkhorse.


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Udonis Haslem’s impact on free agency

Strange title, I know. But Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald thinks that the Heat need to hold onto Udonis Haslem.

Haslem has played so well during the Heat’s stretch of 15 victories in 18 games that he arguably is proving himself indispensable to this organization.

We have seen Haslem do this during the past seven seasons, providing the timely scoring punch, pulling out just the right defensive play, changing the demeanor of the team and teaming with Dwyane Wade to occasionally carry the Heat.

But never has Haslem been such a steady, stabilizing force as he has been during the past six weeks. He’s not just a luxury. He’s a necessity.

There just aren’t many like him in the league. You have loved him since he has been here, but you will miss him even more if he leaves. He’s Horace Grant. He’s Charles Oakley. He’s essential.

How can the Heat keep him if they’re hoping to re-sign Wade and sign another max free agent? Gutierrez suggests going the sign-and-trade route to acquire the other max free agent, going over the cap and re-signing Haslem that way, since the Heat owns his Bird rights. That means parting ways with Michael Beasley:

Beasley, already unhappy as a lost No. 2 scorer, would now have to readjust as a third scorer, and probably at a different position if the free agent score is either Amare Stoudemire or Chris Bosh.

As much as it might be unfair to bluntly say this when you’re comparing a 21-year-old to a 29-year-old, but Haslem is more important than Beasley, not only now, but also for what the Heat hopes to accomplish over the next few years.

Another route would be to sign Wade and Bosh/Stoudemire outright and then sign Haslem using the team’s mid-level exception, if he’d be willing to stay for around $6.0-$6.5 million per season.

And on another note, are Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire really power forwards? The Heat may let Haslem go because he “plays the same position” as both of those superstars, but with his strong defense, rebounding and his knack for hitting the open jumper, he would fit in alongside them assuming that their matchup at center isn’t too bad. I think you sign a big defensive-minded seven-footer to help out on Dwight Howard and Shaq (and maybe Bogut) and you run with Bosh or Stoudemire at the 5 the rest of the time.

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