ESPN: Raptors Losing Interest in Doing a Deal with Bosh

[Hotshot]

Cut Bosh a little slack fellas, because after all he has been waiting for this day for 4 years now.

So I guess we were just the ugly hor he was banging until we were tossed aside when prettier girls showed up??!!!!

No wonder we feel so special!

btw I lost some money today when I betted on Argentina so I am more pissed then you are Doc you German fan you!

[Rouge]

Cut Raptors a little slack fellas, because after all we havent done anything meaningful in this league since the Carter days.

[Dr. James Naismith]

So I guess we were just the ugly hor he was banging until we were tossed aside when prettier girls showed up??!!!!

No wonder we feel so special!

btw I lost some money today when I betted on Argentina so I am more pissed then you are Doc you German fan you!

LOL ... sorry about that Hotshot.

BTW, my comment about cutting Bosh a little slack was said in jest. I'm a little annoyed by his video the other day where he mentioned how much he's been looking forward in being a free agent. More evidence that the man just cared about himself the entire time.

[Dr. James Naismith]

Cut Raptors a little slack fellas, because after all we havent done anything meaningful in this league since the Carter days.

And even then we did nothing meaningful unless you count making it one round deeper in the playoffs as something special.

[Apollo]

I think this is a smoke screen. The Raptors are looking to take advantage of Bosh's character flaws and drive the price up on a S&T... Damn, if you told me a year ago that Bosh was one of the most insecure players in the league I would have laughed it off. Not anymore.

As is more often the case then not we are not in agreement on something my friend

This is how I see it.

1. Bosh is a smart fella. - For example he cut his hair before doing all of these interviews

2. Bosh realizes that a career as a NBA player is short lived

3. Only Bosh knows how much pain he can endure on his busted up knee and what not. So only he knows how long he might have as a top notch player

4. I don't agree that what Bosh is doing is driving down his "brand value". This of course is totally subjective and many think what he is doing is in fact driving down his "brand value".

Ok, so I'll stop it right there. I think you've misunderstood what I am saying. I never said Bosh was driving down his value by acting like an insecure d-bag. What I am saying is it's a major flaw, it's unprofessional and it's an excellent opportunity for the Raptors to play up the idea that it's leading them to becoming disinterested in dealing with Bosh. That doesn't change Bosh's market value but if Bosh should want to play for a team that is capped or he really wants to get that extra year and millions, the Raptors are already in an established position where they aren't looking to deal. With that position established teams could try to offer more enticing offers to the Raptors to get it done.

And for the record, if Bosh were a smart and strong man he would be able to suppress his weakness and handle this as James is handling it. Professionally and quietly.

[Rouge]

Consider, THE MAPLE LEAVES, ARGOS and RAYS ( I mean JAYS) historical records.
Being one round deeper was like the closest thing to LORD Stanely this CITY has gotten.

I Jest DA!

JOOoo Colangelo, Pull the trigger JAA!

[Rouge]

Bosh has 2-3 good years left. THE RAPTORS mgmt know this, Bosh knows this.
Both sides need each other to make this work.

[Rouge]

For a second, Assume we get nothing in return. Our team pretty much is what you have now.
Maybe a strong role player signing happens....i.e. Mr. Lee. Hedo Sticks around and so does Jose.

So how do you feel about that?

[Dr. James Naismith]

Consider, THE MAPLE LEAVES, ARGOS and RAYS ( I mean JAYS) historical records.
Being one round deeper was like the closest thing to LORD Stanely this CITY has gotten.

I Jest DA!

JOOoo Colangelo, Pull the trigger JAA!

I guess you forgot about the back-to-back World Series the Jays won. Sure the Jays are crap now (actually playing better than I thought they would this season) and rebuilding now, but I don't think they warrant being in the same category as the Leafs and Raptors.

[Apollo]

How can someone forget sweet swinging Joe's three run shot to left field?

[Rouge]

I guess you forgot about the back-to-back World Series the Jays won. Sure the Jays are crap now (actually playing better than I thought they would this season) and rebuilding now, but I don't think they warrant being in the same category as the Leafs and Raptors.

Dude,

I can never forget the back-to-back. But that was long ago. I recall being on Danforth the night the jays pulled the first championship. I was waving my Jays flag out my car window.. when some scum ran off with it... right from my hand.

MLSE is no different then the owners of Rangers/Knicks... they want to make money.

[Hassan]

I agree with realist here. If you are going to get horrible contracts for the Bosh S & T, you might as well, let him walk for nothing, instead of giving him his 30 million and creating a powerhouse. It drives the organization in the mud with its reputation and gives the players the feeling, they can request for a trade and actually be rewarded with it with the extra 6th year. It sets a bad precedent for the organization and might be the final nail in the coffin which will move the franchise to "NBA needs a franchise here" Seattle.

lol raptors are not even close to going out of toronto

[Pizzaman]

Awesome how quickly everyone is finally realizing what a douchebag RuPaul really is. No question at all he was stat padding this year just waiting for this moment, and cost his TEAM a chance to compete and play in the post season because of it. He is and was a selfish, attention whore who padded his stats evry chance he got, even though it meant the team around him would not improve. He has never really cared about the other guys on his team and it has always shown during the games. He rarely ever talks about or to anyone else, but only ever talks about himself. I hope he ends up with the worst deal possible in a situation where he cannot win because he's the MAN, and that we shut him down every time we face that RuPaul pansy. BC should not do anything at all to help this dick, and only accept back pieces or a trade exception that will help the Raptors. If not he should make Bosh sign with someone else for the five year max deal, giving up the sixth year because by then he'll be a sack of shit anyway. If Bosh cannot score a deal he likes Raptors should offer him $10 million a year to ensure he goes.

[rev20002]

Whether the rumours are true (that Miami is turned off Bosh; that teams find his behaviour this week unappealling; that Toronto would rather let him walk than accept the S&T deals they have been offered) is something we will know soon enough.

Personally, I simply believe that he's acting his age. He's a kid. He thinks in bold terms. He knows he has a brief career window so he's trying to maximize his income while he can. He may not understand that more mature people (managers, owners, etc.) would approach situations such as this with tact. He may not understand that by being bold now, he may be alienating people who could help him down the road.

Kids don't think about these things. They think about the here and now. Here and now, Bosh wants to be in the headlines, and he's getting that. Time will tell if what he wants now will hurt him later.

He is 25. I don't think saying he's a kid justifies his behavior. He has acted like a gentleman in Toronto and to the Toronto people and now he is turning into a bit of a brat with his "waited 4 years for this" style tweets.

[grindhouse]

Paul Pierce did not opt ut of his contract in order to help his team win. Let's not deify everyone else because you're mad at Bosh. Pierce opted out of his contract in order to get as much money as he could while he could get it.

Pierce will make less money next year to help the team finically. I am not mad at bosh he will get his money but for this team going forward they need to what's best for the team. Possibly taking players they don't want in a sign and trade would not be good IMO.

[Realist]

He is 25. I don't think saying he's a kid justifies his behavior. He has acted like a gentleman in Toronto and to the Toronto people and now he is turning into a bit of a brat with his "waited 4 years for this" style tweets.

He's actually 26 now, which makes him look worse. 18-22 in the sports world is usually a "kid." Maybe 23-24 but that's starting to push it.

[Tim W.]

Pierce will make less money next year to help the team finically. I am not mad at bosh he will get his money but for this team going forward they need to what's best for the team. Possibly taking players they don't want in a sign and trade would not be good IMO.

He didn't opt out of his contract to help the team financially, and him taking a little less isn't meant to help his team financially. It's because he's simply not worth what he would have made and wouldn't get that on the open market. Besides, him making slightly less doesn't help the Celtics financially other than in the sense they have to pay less money next year. They aren't going to now use that money to pay another player where they weren't before.

[Quixotic]

He's actually 26 now, which makes him look worse. 18-22 in the sports world is usually a "kid." Maybe 23-24 but that's starting to push it.

Although there's always going to be more mature people (e.g. Tim Duncan), how many of us have been perfectly professional in our mid-20s. If he was on the wrong side of 30, sure, but whether he's 25 or 26 (it's not like you instantly gain maturity on your birthday), he's just not one of the super mature ones.

Also, one could probably argue that he wasn't even that professional (basketball-wise) toward the later years of his Raptors tenure, with his attempt at acting/comedy and his time spent on developing a side business (his web dev venture). Compare that to some of the greats who spent their time mostly analyzing their opponents on video. I'm not saying shame on him for doing all that stuff -- it's his life and he has the right to live it however he wants -- but it's not like he suddenly started showing his "kid" side (as rev20002 suggests).

[geebee]

He's actually 26 now, which makes him look worse. 18-22 in the sports world is usually a "kid." Maybe 23-24 but that's starting to push it.

Saying that he's not a kid in the "sports world" doesn't change biological fact. Professional athletes are groomed from a very young age to believe they're better than normal people. I don't think it's a stretch to say that professional athletes are actually LESS mature than most normal individuals, and if you're like me (40 yrs old) it isn't hard to look back and realize how bone-headed your behaviour was in your early 20s.

I'm not trying to absolve Bosh of responsibility for his actions, but people get in the habit of looking up to these athletes and forgetting that most of them are basically spoiled college dropouts. He's got a lot of rich and powerful men kissing his feet, and he's let it go to his head. Yeah, sure, he's being a douche.

But he's also simply acting his age.

The only difference between him, DWade and LeBron is that people have been kissing THEIR feet for YEARS. This is the first time Bosh is really feeling like a superstar, so he's having trouble with it. This b.s. is old news for LeBron.

[smushmush]

lol raptors are not even close to going out of toronto

Wow. you are still in denial here about potentially losing the franchise after all the sucking.. I know you will point to the fans next year, being the 6th or so most profitable franchise in the NBA. that will all disappear when the team becomes the next Jays. the maple leaf fans sell-out of games is an anomaly.. Once, the league makes no profit from the franchise and it becomes the timberwolves, the fact that it is in Canada makes it easier for David Stern to move the franchise. And if you are still in denial, ask the Seattle fans that got their franchise moved to a small market team and they don't have an NBA team as a big market city.