When Chris Bosh is seen next in an NBA uniform — no matter what uniform — he will be vastly overpaid.
That is what awaits him, whether he stays with the Raptors, is part of a sign-and-trade arrangement or chooses to go free agent on his own.
The first two scenarios will pay more money on longer contracts than he can get by going free agent. He will, under those circumstances, be paid as a franchise-changing player when it has been evident for seven seasons he is a good player incapable of changing a franchise.
The Raptors, essentially, are held hostage by the Bosh situation, unable to act independently.
That is the situation they been party to themselves.
The best thing for Bosh would be to team with either Dwyane Wade or LeBron James or even Kobe Bryant where he becomes the second offensive option, not the first, where he plays best supporting actor to Wade or James in a lead role.
In the meantime, general manager Bryan Colangelo’s creativity and credibility is in question.
With Bosh, the Raptors missed the playoffs in the impossible to miss the playoffs Eastern Conference.
Without him, it could well get worse before it gets better.
This and that
No matter what happens with the San Jose Sharks, this isn’t a choke job. They’re getting beaten in the Western Conference final by a more complete Chicago team and there’s no shame in that ... If you could re-work the 2006 entry draft, the order would go like this: 1. Jonathan Toews (3rd pick); 2. Nick Backstrom (4); 3. Jordan Staal (2); 4. Erik Johnson (1); 5. Phil Kessel (5) ... Why stats can sometimes be meaningless: Alexander Semin outscored Toews by 16 points in the regular season. Who would you rather have when it matters? ... The worst thing we can say about Toews: His playoff beard is lame ... “I don’t know what the truth is,” Floyd Landis said in 2006, insisting his innocence. And four years later, singing a different tune, neither do we. Or to quote the boxing promoter, Bob Arum on a different subject: “Yesterday I was lying, today I’m telling the truth.” ... Just how would history have changed for John Ferguson and Brian Burke had Fergie been willing to part with Alex Steen, along with Tomas Kaberle in exchange for Chris Pronger in the summer of 2005 when that deal was available? Apparently, he wouldn’t budge on Steen — so Pronger went to Anaheim, the Ducks won the Stanley Cup and Fergie got bounced.
Hear and there
I’m no Colin Campbell but I would have suspended Joe Thornton for a game for his two-handed faceoff slash against Dave Bolland. It was deliberate, nasty, and potentially injurious ... As of yesterday, those surprising Blue Jays had enough wins to be tied or leading in four of baseball’s six divisions. Just not the one they happen to reside in ... And all this time, we thought the title David Braley wanted in front of his name was Commissioner not Senator... I can be as small as the next guy: I enjoyed Vince Carter missing the two free throws which all but cost Orlando Game 2 against Boston. I really did ... Isn’t it nice to see that the London Olympics have named one of their mascots after Kent Manderville? ... This is how ridiculous it is to hold the world hockey championships in Olympic years: Canada and the U.S. played for gold in Vancouver and dominated the field and both bombed at the worlds ... Memo to Adam Lind and Aaron Hill: You have your new contracts. Time to live up to them ... In less than half the number of at bats he had last season, Hammerin’ Jose Bautista has hit the same number of home runs, 13.
Scene and heard
One of Bobby Clarke’s last trades as GM of the Philadelphia Flyers was also one of his worst. He sent Patrick Sharp to Chicago and got nothing of significance in return ... This is the Maple Leafs’ disease Burke likes to talk about: Alexei Ponikarovsky looked close to a Top 6 forward in Toronto. He went to Pittsburgh and scored one playoff goal in 11 games and looked lost ... Jason Heyward is the Major League player you can’t take your eyes off: The kid doesn’t turn 21 until August and is on pace for 37 home runs and 137 RBI as a rookie ... Just wondering: Would Antti Niemi’s nephew address him as Uncle Antti ... Best way to get a broadcast job: Change your name to Darren. As in Darren Dreger, Darren Pang, Darren Dutchyshen, Daren Millard, Darrin Fletcher, Darren Flutie. And my personal favourite, Darrin Stephens ... It took awhile, but Big Papi, David Ortiz, finally blew up over being pinch hit in Toronto: “You know that if you ride with me, you’re going to get two things,’’ Ortiz told WEEI Radio. “Either you’re going to win or you’re going to die with me. That’s the way it is. That’s the way it’s been as long as I’ve been here.”
And another thing
Wonder what the Team Canada washout at the worlds does to Mark Messier’s future with Hockey Canada. We may not take the world’s seriously but Hockey Canada does ... Goes to show how precious pitching is: ESPN baseball guru Buster Olney is reporting that the Blue Jays are shopping relievers Scott Downs and Jason Frasor and asking for too much in return ... What a treat for hockey fans Saturday afternoon: Bob Cole on one network, Mike Emrick on the other: The two most distinct and emotional voices in hockey, calling the same game ... For those of you counting at home, Sonny Weems just got his 17th tattoo. Thought you should know ... Don’t know about you but that cricket match-fixing scandal has me up at night ... So let me get this straight: Brett Favre will return to the Vikings but only if Southern Mississippi gets to the College World Series. And suddenly Brad Childress cares about NCAA baseball ... Department of unfounded rumours: This LeBron James mother story going around is a big time Internet hoax ... Happy Birthday to Marvin Hagler (58), Gary Roberts (44), Brian Campbell (31), Reggie Cleveland (62), John Newcombe (66) and Dave Babych (49) ... And hey, whatever became of Ted Bulley?
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