In a plain, cinderblock room with scattered bar bells, weight plates and medicine balls the only furniture, Bosh is making his case.
The 25-year-old power forward has been one of the most consistent players in the NBA the last three seasons, averaging 22.5 points and 9.7 rebounds, but Bosh wants more and has focused on reinventing himself physically to get it. Stronger, higher, faster: He’s taken an Olympian approach to his off-season training.
Fittingly, Roberson has brought on Kyle Meadows to help. A former world-class sprinter, member of the United States bobsled team and NFL wide receiver, Meadows has a simple goal.
“It’s all about speed, we have to train speed, that’s the neuromuscular element,” he says. “That’s why we do power lifting – it’s explosive and ballistic and sports specific.
There is one thing about Bosh that some would say separates him from, say, Amar’e Stoudemire. Bosh has never said that he wants to be the man on his team. In fact, he would probably enjoy playing second fiddle to a superstar like Dwyane Wade. Bosh has been likened to Pau Gasol in that he is a complementary star, not a superstar who can lead his team to a title.
The Toronto Raptors forward can opt out of his contract in 2010, like Wade, so a trade now would come with the risk that it would end up as a one-year Bosh rental. But is the idea of Riley trading for Bosh this summer even plausible?
Chris Bosh says he won’t be signing a contract extension this summer with the Toronto Raptors, but he has one more reason to stay with the club that drafted him in 2003 now that it has added Reggie Evans in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. If Bosh is traded in the off-season or signs elsewhere as a free agent next year, it means he’ll have to play against the rugged defender again.
"I hate playing against that guy, to be honest with you," Bosh said of Evans, a 6-foot-8, 250-pound bruiser who has a knack for getting under opponents’ skin. The Raptors acquired him last week for guard/forward Jason Kapono. "I’m glad he’s on my team. He’s very strong, a smart player and very physical and he’s dirty – or he can be – and, honestly, that’s what you need to be a good team, you need guy like that."
Signs of former USC forward Demar DeRozan’s draft value: He works out for the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday and New York Knicks on Friday as teams try to squeeze in workouts before the June 25th NBA draft.
