ESPN Broussard: Houston has a very good chance at Bosh

Martin is a superstar to me as well, I'd say the 2nd most valuable player on this team by far, after Yao. And we all know Yao is the franchise lol....

Ariza HAS to stay!...he is by far my favorite player on the team. What he provides on this team goes much more beyond the numbers. Bosh I think is kinda bored and disillusioned by the plain cultre the raptors group of players had as an environment. They had an "international" culture which had little street cred and was too wussy and european for a true black g like Bosh...he didn't have any fellows g's there to be his wingmen and as a result he found the raptors culture boring. Everyone must have been talking about soccer while Bosh was keen on hitting some black booty at night.

So naturally, Bosh wanted to leave the Raptors to Southside America.

 

But who's popular opinion? Maybe for the cleveland fans and that's wishful thnking...Lebron can seriously end up with ZERO rings if he stays in cleveland..not just zero rings, but hardly any finals appearances, if any. He's 25, 26 in dec. He's in his prime and without a J his decline will hit earlier than others. you can kiss goodbye any major improvements this season, that's one year wasted. Next year there's a shot with Jamison and Mo coming off the books, but that's likely a trade deadline deal, not sure he can mesh that quickly with new teammates and that's assuming they're good ones that fit and not another panic move by Cleveland. High chance of that year being wasted too...Meanwhile other teams are getting better, stying together, getting more experience, etc...doesnt look good. Im not sure he's willing to trade rings to be loyal.

I dont doubt wade may go for that, but again, that leaves the door open for bosh and bron to go to NJ, it wouldnt leave Houston as his next or only choice.

I think bosh is hoping for the max, but if lebron doesnt take it, i can't see him being selfish enough to still demand it. He'd be getting what he wants, to pair up with Bron. I think the chinese endorsements are not the same. For one, they are significant for the average ball player personality (battier, scola, etc), but it's not worth it for a superstar who is willing to be out there and self-promote since the brands arent that popular, so they can get better endorsements in the United States with larger companies. Also, the nets owner would directly influence his overseas endorsements, while Yao isn't going to try and represent him. Bosh can get more with Prokhorov directly looking out for him and his endorsements, not to mention he'll gain even more popularity worldwide from playing with Lebron. Part of the reason why Bosh odesnt get as many endorsements is because he's playing in another country on a bad team. He doesnt get as much attention, but he's definitely got the talent and personality to secure a lot more playing in the States. He'll be seen more often on TV and therefore increase his popularity.

 

i think that's a must....you dont find true shooting guards like him easily in this league and he's one of the most efficient. We know the front office wanted him, but i think they love him more than we imagine. You don't go visit a guy during a FA recruiting trip if there's a chance he'll be traded. Probably the last thing on their mind right now, next to Yao.

 

I agree with the thinking that Cleveland is the favorite for Lebron at the moment. Hiring Byron Scott was a coup; he'll be an improvement over Brown and he has the respect of one of Lebron's best friends, Chris Paul. In that vein, Cleveland management can point to the signing of Scott as a precursor to a hard push for Paul in 2012 when he becomes unrestricted. I think out of anyone Lebron would like to play with Paul the most; they get along the best and unlike Wade their positions in no way overlap.

If Lebron chooses Cleveland, that knocks him out of the Bosh sweepstakes. It comes down to Wade and whether or not Chicago can pull off a SnT with Toronto (they can't so far), and secondly whether or not Wade and Bosh think they can win with a team rebuilt from scratch in Miami. There would be no center in place there, although Miami could theoretically re-sign Jermaine O'Neal and Udonis Haslem. And Beasley would be redundant with Bosh in the fold. Really the only way I see Miami being a viable option is if Bosh is not thinking at all, because no matter what they do this offseason they aren't winning a championship with a gutted team like that.

 

It's different for Lebron than the other superstars. His legend is tied to Cleveland. His been a local legend since he started blossoming as a basketball player. Their whole hope is dependant on him and if he walks away, it will be like turning his back on his hometown. That has got to weigh on him, despite the fact that he's attracted to many different situations. Plus, his mom and his set of close friends are from Cleveland. It's also not like Cleveland didn't have one of the best records for the last two years...

As for the sign and trade, it should be encouraging that there are actually many teams trying to sign and trade Bosh, but every sports channel just brings up Houston as the route if Bosh decides to pick up that extra 30 or so million. Only weeks ago, Houston really wasn't even in the race. Morey's a real badass. Also, Toronto would probably prefer to trade Bosh a team that is outside of the Eastern conference. I actually don't think it's just about the money for Bosh. It seems like he wants the cake, the icing, the candles and all the sprinkles on top. He was pretty frustrated with the lack of supporting cast in Toronto and the losing. So, I'm sure he's carefully looking to see where he can win big yet still have everything else like the max and branding, which really narrows down the choices. Also, even though Miami has a gutted team, if they have the right superstars as a structure, they can build up a supporting cast in a few years... The real problem is that Miami doesn't have any assets to do a sign and trade. Toronto doesn't want what Miami has now. New York would be great for his "branding," but New York has a problem in terms of sign and trade assets. Plus, that team's just a mess... and it's been poorly run for years...so even if they throw a lot of money at the situation, tehir knee-jerk reactions rather than having a level-headed game plan hurts their success. Chicaog would be great for Bosh. But, if he insists on that 6 year max, then it's dicey here too. It's not clear what Chicago can offer, though they do have some assets they can trade...not as much as Houston. If Bosh wants to get that 6 year max AND win AND get branding...well, he's going to have to do a tremendous sell job on Toronto to make them believe he will bolt for one of these cap room teams.

 

One thing is for sure: If Bosh comes to Houston, i'm paying for a twitter-detox ASAP.

 

Ariza is clearly unappreciated on this board. Still, he is the one guy I most want to upgrade. Not that he's bad, just that he's less, IMO, than Brooks, Martin and Yao. And, I'm excited about Scola/Hill/Patterson. Scola kicked butt the last part of the year, and he's just holding the fort until the kiddies come along.

The fact that I'd rather upgrade at SF rather than PF is probably just because I'm not as knowledgeable as DM (or some others here), or because Bosh is a special value, better than what's available at the SF position.

 

On one hand, Ariza's value could bounce back. On the other hand, Ariza's value could decline even further. How could Morey have been so wrong on this guy? I don't think he was. I just think Ariza was trying to do too much, and that shouldn't be an issue next season.

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Concur. His value was obvious after Martin showed up.

 

Ariza could theoretically be the 5th option on this team next year (behind Yao, Bosh, AB and KM)....he will be fine if he stays

 

Martin a superstar??? No, Yao is not even a superstar. Martin isn't even an all-star so what are you talking about?

 

if he remains a rocket, he could start for the all star game next year

 

Not over Kobe

 

there's 2 guards slot.

 

Why the hell does anyone care so much about a guy who cant dribble, pass or play defense? Shoot, lets bring back Matt Maloney too then!

 

It did not post some moron asking DM to bring back Von Wafer post. Nothing against you DM...your the man!

 

Your despicable!!

 

I wish I could help w/all the free agent speculation but only the free agents themselves know what they are planning &even they may not know

dmorey

 

Cleverly disguised Morey Jedi Mind Trick Tweet to get Bosh to Houston. ;-)

 

Lets,rephrase this, there is no sense in getting bosh if we let go of Martin for it. people I would trade Martin for in a package are Jj cp3 or some other elite level guard. So to me Martin is right below that echelon. So by my standards I consider him a superstar, since only a superstar guard can be justification for trading hi