They could...but by trading Bosh, the Raptors need to look to the future and no team can offer future help more than the Rockets. A 7 million dollar expiring contract and 2 first round picks...thats a lot. There really arent many teams that are going to be offering young studs to the Raptors for Bosh and there arent any teams in the league that have the future assets that we have. Im sure there will be packages offered to the Raptors...but our offer can definitely be competitive. Plus, we play in a different conference, so that gives us a slight edge over eastern conference teams as well.
We could give them a strong offer yes, even moreso because Bosh also has to WANT to go to that team in a SnT (Which is good for us, because teams like the Twolves would also have a lot to offer) 1st thing that needs to happen is Raps need to suck, get swept and I think there is a good chance Bosh says screw this and moves on (despite all the lip service he's given Toronto and hints that he's staying...yet hasn't resigned) Then I think Morey will be all over it :grin:
From all the rumblings I hear about, Bosh isnt going to stay in Toronto. It'll be an interesting summer, thats for sure.
The point is that there is no frontcourt partner that can cover for Yao's weakness against skilled big men. He can't guard bigs with jumpers or mobile post players like Boozer and Gasol. We can say he has great post defense til we're blue in the face, but in the playoffs he's been the main person attacked one on one (except against Portland). Getting Bosh allows us to hit back. It doesn't matter if the lakers go for quickness with a Gasol/Odom frontcourt because Yao/Bosh can outproduce them. Bosh can punish their frontcourt in ways that Scola, Hayes, and Landry simply haven't been able to. We'd have options, whereas now we just throw the ball in to Yao and expect him to dominate. That's an uphill struggle and we certainly can't expect Yao to do that post-surgery.
Nicely summed up on Bosh's defensive capabilities. I really do feel that in the right system, he can perform KG's role(though not as great) as a defender. Also, one thing about Bosh coming to Houston is that he can still be the star of the franchise. It really would be similar to Boston's big 3(Yao as Pierce, Martin as Allen, and Bosh as KG). He doesn't have to play 2nd fiddle to Lebron or Wade if they go to a team together. And at the same time he has just as big a chance at a championship. If Toronto's for it, I think we have a legit shot.
Right..hence why i started with "Scola's defense isn't any better"..instead of "Bosh's defense isn't any better"...Its how the english language works..Yeah i know its weird.
Yao clearly is a defensive liability against mobile, excellent shooting bigs, but he is a major advantage against (i) bigs who aren't excellent shooters (this category comprises the majority of bigs, excluding (unfortunately) people like Boozer) and (ii) the wing players on the other teams. People who disdain Yao's effect on the defense are just wrong. I know that the Jazz series were really painful, but don't let those series distort Yao's value as a big man. He would be an excellent match up against the West Centers -- Bynum on the Lakers, Nene on the Nuggets, Hayward/Ericka on the Mavericks, Duncan (or whoever is the current corpse that nominally plays center on the Spurs when it's not Duncan), Pryzbilla/Oden on the Trailblazers, Gasol on the Grizzlies, Okafor on the Hornets, and Krstic/Thomas on the Thunder. In fact, the only two real threats to Yao are Stoudamire and Okur. Not to mention he eats Dwight Howard's lunch, would match up well against Shaq/Z, and Perkins (though Rasheed Wallace would be a problem) on teh Magic, Cavs and Celts. There is a reason that the Rockets had been in the top 5 defensive teams in the league for the past 5 years and are a bad defensive team now. In addition, Yao has a tremendous effect on the other opponents wing players -- PGs, SGs and SFs. In particular, he keeps them from driving into the lane for easy shots or easier layups. For wing players to do well, they have to be "on" from distance because Yao's defensive presence deters them from driving. He may not block as many shots as we'd like, but he clearly changes a ton of shots and causes them to miss, which is just as good although not as aesthetically pleasing. There's a reason why this season has been layup drill after layup drill. Look, Yao is not mobile. But that's the tradeoff you get when you get someone who's 7'6. And while he may not be the rebounding/blocking demon that Howard is, he still gets 10-11 rebounds and 2-2.5 blocks a game (plus altered shots) and he is one an offense monster with an 85% free throw percentage. You can argue that he should get more blocks but go find another 7'6 guy who has his combination of skills. I think it's ok to question his health (although Stoudamire has been out almost as much until this year) and you can argue that Dwight is the better all around center, but the disdain of Yao's ability has been very surprising. And calling him soft is stupid -- he's 320 pounds and it's been pretty clear that most opposing centers take a beating from Yao (and Garnett and PaU Gasol were softies before they switched teams too). Morey, at least clearly has emphasized how important Yao is to the Rockets defense. Call it skill or call it size, but the defensive impact is undeniable. Assuming he's healthy next year (and yes I'm holding my breath too), having Yao on the low blocks, Scola in the 15-17 foot range and Martin and Brooks/Landry on the wings is a very exciting prospect. I'd love to have Bosh too, but we don't have to diminish Yao in order to make Bosh better.
I know it is an unlikely scenario but nobody knows what Morey would do, but and that is a big but could Morey trade YAO for BOSCH with appropriate fillers?
We can't dictate who other teams play at center. We've played both the mavericks and lakers already and seen them adjust. The mavs played a Nowitski/Howard frontcourt and benched their centers. Yao opted to guard Howard and we went on to win one more game in that series. The lakers tried guarding Yao straight up with Bynum and got destroyed. In game 2 they went with a Gasol/Odom frontcourt and starting fronting aggressively. Obviously, we don't know how the series would have played out as we lost Yao after game 3, but it was a bad matchup for us. Teams will continue to go small/quick on us. Most of those teams you listed can play guys that are a difficult matchup for Yao. This isn't meant to disparage him at all, but rather illustrates why getting someone like Bosh is so imperative. Yao's been carrying the load in the frontcourt his whole career. We've been putting nothing next to him but role players and specialists. He needs help, similar to how getting Kevin Martin helped free up Brooks' game in the backcourt. Notice how much better our team looked when we started a good all-around PF like Scola? Now imagine having an all-star caliber PF like Bosh. Teams still double team Yao off of Scola. Bosh isn't a guy you ever leave open.
Well said, last year Scola is the best front court player Yao's ever played with at the pf. While Scola is good and has improved his jumper this season, Bosh is someone you never leave open.
Brooks, to me, looks like he belongs to be a Rocket. I wouldn't mind having Bosh but I would prefer Brooks more. As for Bosh being more expensive than Brooks. I hope that if we don't include someone like Bosh, they increase Brooks' salary. I believe it has deserved it from his current one million? Is that correct?
plus it gives toronto a chance to ROYALLY screw the knicks by ensuring that: a. bosh doesn't end up in NYC b. taking the knicks picks c. helping guarantee that the knicks miss out on at least one of the big 3 FA's (which further increases the odds that those draft picks are lottery bound) we can definitely use that angle to our advantage.
Some things to keep in mind: 1. Brooks is only 25 this year - this translates to lots of time left on his legs, and him potentially not having hit his ceiling yet. I believe with some offseason work he can become almost as good a passer as he is a scorer. 2. He LEADS the league in 3PM AND is shooting 40%. That's a GREAT clip, considering how many he takes a game (6.4). 3. His scoring has increased by 8ppg with 10 extra minutes; that's actually pretty efficient. 4. If we trade Brooks, we lose a significant amount of depth at PG in the short term (ie next 2-3 years); that would leave us with Lowry starting (which I wouldn't mind, although his skill sets would still allow teams to double onto Martin) and a backup who is either a rookie or a d-league call up. This is genuinely a very strange question because it's hard to ascertain how a Yao-Bosh frontcourt would work, how K-Mart would play with a post heavy team, etc. If we were to not make a trade in the summer, I can see Yao coming back and averaging 16-18ppg (considering he will have limited minutes), and playing the high post a lot the way Chuck is now, enabling Martin and Brooks to continue to be 18-20ppg guys. When teams start to play harder defense on the back-court, we'd have the depth in the frontcourt to switch to an inside-out offensive set. Bosh can also do those things (play high or low post), and very effectively, but you have to keep in mind that paying for Martin long-term, in addition to an inevitable Yao extension, plus Ariza = a TON of money. Sorry for the rant
Remember, Morey is very foxy and sly. He never reveals anything, even though we present our hopes & dreams he will surprise us by finding high level, complementary players this summer who fit our chemistry. Bosh, Wade, Amare and Lebron may not be exactly what Morey is planning. I see us loosing only one key player this off season!
