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Bosh on the block? Joe, are you getting this?
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How Bosh would look good in a PIstons uniform?
According to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, The Toronto Raptors All-Star power forward Chris Bosh doesn't plan on resigning with the team when he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2010.
If Smith's story is true - and the validity of his story has been debated - the Raptors will be forced to put Bosh on the trading block. Why would they want a lame duck as their franchise cornerstone?
The Raptors need to sell Bosh now, and let his new organization worry about future contract negotiations.
Enter Joe Dumars and the Detroit Pistons.
It's no secret that Dumars has a man-crush on Bosh. He's admitted to the fact that Bosh would have been the Pistons selection in the 2003 lottery if they had passed on Darko Milicic. And Bosh is considered a Dumars favorite among the elite class of free agents available in 2010.
Why wait?
The Pistons have some valuable assets that could have the Raptors front office salivating: expiring contracts (Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace), young talent (Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell), box-office draw (AI, again) and of course draft picks.
Dumars could easily slap together a package around AI that would get the Raptors at least contemplating a deal. And, no, I'm not delirious. The Raptors would want Iverson. What team doesn't want $20 million coming off their books at the end of the season?
Think about it. Toronto is an abyss for NBA talent. They have done a decent job drafting top-notch players (Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Bosh), but no superstar who has played there for a few years ever wants to stick around long-term. The only chance Toronto has at tricking an All-Star caliber player of making Toronto home for the long haul is by throwing more money at them than any other team would even imagine. The only way to create said cap space is to acquire AI's expiring deal.
Even if Bosh does become available, Detroit will not be the only squad chasing after the four-time All-Star. The Dallas Mavericks are known to have interest in the hometown product, and we all know owner Mark Cuban has plenty of money to throw his way.
Still, this is the position Dumars longed for when he made the Iverson-for-Chauncey Billups swap in November. Dumars knew he would have the opportunity to chase players of Bosh's caliber in the summer of 2010.
Now he has a chance to beat everyone else to the punch and grab one of those marquee players a year and half earlier than expected.
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