Don't forget, Wade is getting DIVOR$ED this year. He needs that extra Max Bird Rights Dough just for that alone. He's not signing straight up with Chicago - no way in hell. He has to pay his agent, taxes, wife, etc. In the end, Raptors can make Bosh come to his senses and get him shipped where they want him to go, because they know he's not going to pass on $30 mill. They have that $30 million leverage on him, and if he walks leaving that on the table and accepts less than Wade and Lebron are making, it means he's a chump and can't stand on his own.
Pretty obvious LBJ is headed back to the Cavs. Since Toronto can't/won't SnT with Miami or Cleveland, and Stoudemire is already in NY, it has to be Bosh to Chicago along with Wade OR Wade to Miami and Bosh to Houston. I'm also assuming NJ is not an option at this point either for anyone. NY goes forward with it's new franchise player in Stoudemire. Cleveland stands pat with LBJ. Miami now has the means to put a tier 2 all-star with Wade, most likely Boozer. Houston pairs Bosh with Yao to contend in the West, may yet add Brad Miller. The Nets and Bulls are the big losers in free agency this offseason. OR NY goes forward with it's new franchise player in Stoudemire. Cleveland stands pat with LBJ. Chicago adds Wade and Bosh to pair with Rose and Noah, new Eastern dynasty. Houston stands pat, may yet add Brad Miller. The Nets and Heat are the big losers in free agency this offseason, Boozer may just re-sign with Jazz.
If the whole Bosh thing doesn't work out I'm okay with Plan B which is to re-sign "The Ice Cream Man" ... <object width="540" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iCJeIGNFVKI&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iCJeIGNFVKI&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="540" height="385"></embed></object> --RB
Unfortunately I believe that getting Bosh would be the only chance the Rockets have of winning a title next season. Lee isn't going to cut it against the Lakers.
I have been pretty neutral about everything up until this point but if you ask me, this improves the odds of Bosh in Houston. I agree with everyone else - Lebron isn't so cruel as to go onto National TV and break Cleveland's heart...plus it would look bad for his image. He must be staying in Cleveland. That leaves Bosh to decide between Chicago, Miami, Houston, and Cleveland. I don't think Bosh is going to leave $30mil on the table with the CBA changing in a year just to play with Wade/Lebron - especially because Bosh's earning potential through endorsements is significantly lower than Wade or Lebron's. I'm actually shocked more teams didn't realize this earlier when they were dumping contract after contract to sign those guys outright. Bosh has to go where there is a sign and trade - it's just too much money to leave on the table. Count out Miami in that scenario as Toronto takes on more risk than reward for acquiring Beasley. Chicago has some pieces to do a sign and trade but they don't have enough to sign and trade for both Bosh AND Wade and you know Wade doesn't want to take less money while in the middle of a nasty divorce that took half of his earnings. That leaves Houston and Cleveland. I think Houston has a BIG advantage that no one is talking about. As mentioned earlier, Bosh doesn't make the endorsement money that the other guys do but if he enter's Yao's marketing sphere, he probably takes in another $10-20mil/year in endorsements in Asia. That's a lot of scratch for a guy who is a 2nd class marketing star in the US. ...now to Cleveland. The story is Bosh doesn't want to play in Cleveland. I can see that - it seems like a honest response....almost too honest. I wonder if part of Lebron's TV special is a surprise at the end - Bosh agreeing to move to Cleveland. He gets his extra $30mil, gets to play with Lebron, and Toronto could probably get some decent trade pieces from Cleveland. The Lebron Special almost seems too obvious and it would totally sucker punch Houston fans(and foolish Miami fans) if it turned into a surprise Bosh is joining us special. ....so that's what I think. Wade stays in Miami and get's Boozer to join him and honestly Miami will probably be better off signing role players to complement Boozer and Wade. Lebron goes to Cleveland and Bosh is a toss up between Houston and Cleveland with an edge on Cleveland. If Bosh hasn't signed with anyone before the Lebron special, I'm leaning towards him being in Cleveland. Bosh and Wade will know where Lebron is going to land before the special so I would expect them to finalize their offers sometime tomorrow/early Thursday. One other very important note here - you can't trust ANY NEWS coming from ESPN before the Lebron special because it's in the network's best interest to preserve the mystery. I'm sure some of their analysts will break the truth but it will be offset by misinformation coming from other analysts.
The NJ owner is at war with the Knicks right now. I expect him to make an offer at David Lee(even overpay him) just to take a long time New York fan favorite over to his new Brooklyn team. I alluded to this in another thread - he isn't looking to win a championship - he is looking to put Knicks fans in seats in his new arena. It's war - hence the huge Nets mural outside Knicks HQ. I guarantee you the Russian's plan is to drink Dolan's milkshake(There Will be Blood reference) by taking what Dolan has long taken for granted - his fanbase, viewership of his cable network, and advertising partners.
I'm definitly agreed with you that I believe Bosh is heading to Cleveland to team up with Lebron. Why would Bosh outrightly say he don't want to play for Cleveland? THis is what all the drama is all about Lebron is going to announce he's returning but with a twist that Bosh will be joining them.
Alright, I spent a hour scanning all the updates and concluded this: There are only two possible destinations for Bosh. Miami or Houston. Chi is out actually since they are 100% not able to land Wade/Bosh duo and Bosh wont play there unless Wade is there. Now the whole thing depends on who TOR wants to deal with. Obviously Houston can offer much better package than MIA can so I think we have 60-70% chance to get Bosh while MIA has 30-40% chance.
Fair enough, and nice perspective. However, that's an extreme work in progress. Especially with the branding and history the Knicks have already established.
uh... you only win fans if you win championships. david lee is NOT a "long time fan favorite" brother. until the nets win a couple of championships and get marquee players, they're not going to overtake the knicks' history in that city.
Absolutely a huge undertaking but if anyone was crazy enough to do it, wouldn't this be the guy? He's a self made billionaire with obvious business savvy. By contracts, Dolan inherited the Cablevision from Daddy and has largely used the popular sports franchises he controls to leverage market share in his cable company(Knicks/Rangers games are exclusively licensed to Cablevision). Considering New Yorkers already hate Dolan's running of the team, Cablevision in general, and the state of a dilapidated Madison Square Garden(for the most profitable team in the NBA no less), I think the Russian is ultimately looking to create a new home team and that's likely why he has joined with Jay Z. He needs him to be a face that New Yorkers can put to this team so they aren't viewed as Jersey transplants. He also needs Jay Z to bring in high profile celebrities to create a Staples center type environment so he can keep his stadium packed(the stadium he helped pay for).
I disagree with you, but that's okay. Only time will tell. I'm not saying the Knicks are going to go away, but I think the Nets will become wildly popular in New York just by contrast to the overpaid/underachieving Knicks. New York is a basketball town and those fans are desperate for a good product on the court and I don't think they get that even with the Amare led Knicks.
You sound like a Knicks fan I know. She compared the Nets/Knicks to the Lakers/Clippers. I had to remind her that the Nets have had way more success recently. Went to the playoffs repeatedly and Finals twice during the Kidd era.
You are only missing the fact that Toronto has very little input into what Bosh wants. Bosh could decide that he could live with a 5-yr contract and sign with whoever. Your Houston percentages are too high in that Bosh has said very little about his desire to play in Houston.
