No one at this year’s NBA final believes Bosh is staying in Toronto.
The unanswered questions remain where is he going to end up playing and what, if any, piece or pieces the Raptors will fetch in a potential sign and trade.
Bosh would be an ideal complement playing alongside Wade, LeBron James or Kobe Bryant.
Ideally, it would make more sense for the Raptors to package disgruntled small forward Hedo Turkoglu or over-priced Jose Calderon as part of a sign and trade.
Whatever happens, the process will be complicated, likely involving multiple teams.
Meanwhile, Bosh has been chosen by the Professional Basketball Writers’ Assocation as this year’s recipient of the Magic Johnson Award, presented to a player who combines on-court performance with steady co-operation with the media.
The Raptors will resume working out draft-eligible players on Tuesday. The team has scheduled more workouts for free agents on Friday and Saturday.
The past few weeks I’ve been calling around to every team in the league gathering draft info. Out of all those conversations, one thing that is becoming clear: The Raptors have been the most aggressive team in the league this summer in seeking out all sorts of trades. At this point it’s conceivable that the team could end up trading three of its five starters this summer.
Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo, as we reported in May, is open to a sign-and-trade should Chris Bosh tell him he wants to sign somewhere else on July 1. Obviously the Raptors would like to keep Bosh, and, according to a Raptors source, they are attempting to clean house now to show him they can surround him with a more competitive team. The source told me that there’s been little movement on the Bosh front and that won’t change until they hear from him on what he wants to do.
Meanwhile, the Raptors are not just sitting around. Rather, Colangelo is shopping Hedo Turkoglu, Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack with an eye toward making trades before July 1.
The same source told me that a Turkoglu trade was already in the works and could happen by the draft. While the source was confident something would happen, the source didn’t disclose the potential destination(s). The Calderon and Jack discussions are moving more slowly, but over the past few days the Raptors have been pressing forward on those fronts as well.
At the same time, the Raptors appear to be closing in on a trade for an additional first-round pick. Colangelo has called every team with multiple picks looking for something in the 20s, according to sources. He’s offering cash (the team can pay up to $3 million for a pick) to any team that doesn’t want to make a three-year commitment to a late first rounder. A few teams, including the Thunder and Nets, have said no. But teams with multiple first-round picks (like the Grizzlies) or teams trying to save cash or a luxury tax hit (see the Orlando Magic) are in Colangelo’s sights.
If you’re from the T.Dot, I have to be very honest with you. You will not be watching Chris Bosh play for your team next season. The free agent forward was recently spotted in Los Angeles having dinner with Dwyane Wade and Joe Johnson. Surely, the dinner discussion turned to the playing future of all three players at some point. In a little over two weeks, we’ll know a lot more about the destinations of the players involved in perhaps the biggest free agent class in NBA history.
To rub salt in that Canadian wound, lets take a look at Chris Bosh’s Huarache 2010 PE. The design doesn’t differ much from some of the Huarache 2010 PEs we’ve seen recently. The shoe features a white leather upper, with a black textured neoprene sock lining the inner. Black also hits the tongue, heel, and outsole, while the midsole is varsity red. Bosh’s “CB4″ logo is embroidered on the tongue for personalization. Though we’ll most likely never see him suit up for Toronto again, he could wear similar player exclusives next year in Miami or Chicago.
"I don’t look at it as recruiting. I’ll gauge and see if guys want to be [in Miami], who wants to be with me.
"It’s about who can come to Miami, it’s about who do you trust, who can fit the organization, who best fits you as a player, things of that nature."
Wade told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Saturday he talked with Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh and Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson in Los Angeles this past week.
Wade told the newspaper he had dinner with Bosh and saw Johnson at a Brand Jordan event.
"My friends are the guys that are in the league," Wade told the Sun-Sentinel. "Some of my closest friends in the NBA happen to be certain guys that are up in this free-agent market. Yeah, it’s going to be like that. Like I said, I don’t worry about it. I smile and I keep on going with my day.
"Me and Chris have been friends since we came into the NBA. We signed with the same agent. So we can’t eat together? It’s all good. We understand what’s going to come about from anything that goes on. But, no worries, it’s just friends eating dinner."
The latest buzz has Ray Allen looking to bolt the Celtics when he becomes free on July 1 to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.
Slater’s Sports Zone has opened an indoor sports complex at 727 Plantation Drive near Pecan Plantation in Richmond.
The project is co-owned by former NBA player Reggie Slater and Don McIntyre of Dmac Construction. Slater played basketball at Kashmere High in Houston and for six years in the NBA for teams such as the Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Timberwolves.
The one-story, 62,000-square-foot building will serve as the new home of the Fort Bend Fire girls volleyball club. The space includes eight volleyball courts and four basketball courts. The center will also host basketball camps, tournaments and leagues. Velocity Sports Performance has leased 6,000 square feet and will offer strength training and conditioning to volleyball players and other athletes. Additionally, a tae kwon do studio has leased 2,500 square feet.
Elton Brand is feverishly trying to be unloaded by the Philadelphia 76ers who feel that the team plays better with Iggy at the 3 and Young at the 4, which meshes perfectly with their plan to draft super-prospect Evan Turner at shooting guard. The Raptors have a hole at the 5 and are in the market for a big man as they have all but resolved to draft a wing unless one slips. Elton Brand, has been a disappointment the last couple of years even though he is still paid like a ‘max’ player. He seems to have regained his health and now just needs the right opportunity to show that he is back close to his old form. The Raptors would be a perfect stage for Brand to accrue some trade value for a subsequent trade.
It is interesting to note that Avery Bradley is the only player they were interested in seeing again possibly indicating their strong interest in him as has been rumoured since our friends at Raptors Republic first suggested he may be the Raptors target at #13. We can also reason that the Raptors attempts to move up in the draft have failed and that we have resigned to take the best player available regardless of position at #13, something that should of, been the strategy all along. If Bradley did not suffer the ankle sprain this workout would likely go a long way in helping decide the Raptors choice on June 24th. Regardless of his absence this will be a key workout heading to the lottery. Hassan Whiteside and Solomon Alabi are also expected to be in Toronto for workout early this week (no info on dates as of writing). Xavier Henry, Paul George and Eric Bledsoe fall into the likely best player available category when it is the Raptors turn to pick at #13, while Hassan Whiteside may also be in the mix due to his high upside.