Look I want the guy bad, but if Bosh is insistent on that 6th year and the only way to get him is in fact through a S&T, I'd immediately switch gears and look to bring David Lee back. That still remains a big option for us w/o any strings attached... I like Bosh a lot but re-signing Lee might make more sense to me than giving up two key players for Bosh, if that's how this thing's gonna go... There are factors here though -- this is assuming Bosh comes to this decision after he talks about the whole situation in depth with LeBron face to face AND THEN (hopefully) ALL TOGETHER with LeBron & the Knicks brass in a sit-down or at least on a conference call with everyone involved...I don't know why but I really believe LeBron winds up pulling a Shaq and comes w/o a S&T---hopefully Bosh can be convinced to go the same route. I think LeBron looks to be the same type of pioneer Shaq was when he bolted for Hollywood.. But hey if we can't secure Bosh, I might immediately return focus to David Lee and then try to convince LeBron that Lee can offer similar production to Bosh. It really wouldn't take much convincing too (yeah Bosh is a little better than Lee but right now, Lee's ours - he wouldn't require us to surrender anyone in order to bring him back & he probably won't require a max deal - hopefully LeBron understands these all-important factors. The proof is in the pudding regarding Lee. He was an all-star this year, a legit 20/10 guy now...If LeBron goes for it (a big if because gun to my head I still think Bosh would be more appealing to him) that might be the best way to go. Fact of the matter is Lee DOES IN FACT supply similar production to Bosh and by re-upping Lee instead of trading for Bosh we'd not only retain Chandler & Gallo BUT WE'D ALSO have some money left over to utilize on another minor FA or two (possibly a CJ Watson, Amir Johnson, someone like that...). I'm not interested in surrendering Gallo & Chandler for Bosh, although I'm not opposed to dealing them for other players once we max out on FA...For Bosh though, as of right now I say no. Just bring back Lee. That's how I feel right now but it's still early and I reserve the right to change my opinion as things progress. Gallo AND Chandler for Bosh is way too much to give up when you have Lee there to sign as an awesome (not to mention very comparable) plan B for a big man.
A couple of factors on why I think Bosh could be convinced to come on a Knicks max offer (5-year deal, no S&T):
(1) If LeBron did it and convinced him to do the same to come play with him.
(2) He was disrespected by Bryan Colangelo very early in the season when Colangelo came out and questioned publicly whether or not Bosh was even a max player and worth a max deal.
(3) I don't necessarily buy into this whole "he'd be leaving $30-something million on the table" by not going back to Toronto for a full 6-year deal. I think there's some misconception here. At first glance this appears to be a major factor against but if you really look at it, that's not really the case. You figure Bosh [or any major FA such as LeBron] signs the 5 year deal with another club with an opt out after 4. At that time, they re-negotiate and extend their deals. Even if contracts come crashing down with the new CBA as we've been hearing, it still wouldn't be $30 million left on the table. It probably wouldn't even be half that amount...Salary-wise, he'll make his money. And if the team's winning, like LeBron, he'll have his endorsement opportunities in NY as well.. Remember a big reason why D Lee hasn't had many endorsement opportunities to speak of is because the team sucks. Period. Who in their right mind wants to spend big money to endorse a lousy product? Things would change big-time if the team started winning. I really believe that -- look at the facts - people still decide to show up and pay for tickets at least during this drought for years..Everytime you turn around, the Knicks are still selling out home games on a regular basis. That's gotta say something...
(4) Does he really love living in relative obscurity in Toronto? Not only is he completely off the radar there (he's in another country for God's sake), he pays a lot more income tax than he would here (at least at the moment), and his team's really not that great anyway with virtually no opportunity cap-wise to improve. With Bosh coming back they're already topping $63 million next year. Even if they re-negotiated a new deal starting in the $15 mil. range (low ball) to save the team a few million it wouldn't matter, they're still well over...Their only real opportunity to improve the team would be through trades -- now ask yourself, who really would want guys like Turkoglu, Bargnani, Jose Calderon and their contracts? Those guys aren't difference makers for the amount of money that's owed to them..The kid DeRozan has some nice upside and some decent value in a trade package I guess but to be honest, they really don't have great talent to use in a major trade. I think their talent is only so-so...That team pretty much is what it is right now. Now is that enough to keep Bosh in place?? Probably not -- that team probably needs to be gutted..
(5) As with all the major FAs, there's no better place to play when the team's rolling and winning. Donnie Walsh appears to be committed to reshaping the team into a winner as quickly as possibly.
(6) The D'Antoni factor -- forget what we all think about the guy (we've all picked the guy apart, sometimes for good reason, on some issues but all the while forgetting we've had an awful roster since he's been here -- the only real problem I've had with Mike is his refusal to play the younger guys a lot earlier than he did this past year. Other than that, I think for the most part, he's done the best he could with a terrible team), Mike D'Antoni still is a coach every major star player respects and wants to play for. They've all said as much over and over...
(7) There was an early rumor that Bosh's agent grew up on LI and is a Knicks fan but I'm having trouble confirming that now. That may have been a prior agent -- his current agent is Henry Thomas and he's based out of Chicago. If Henry Thomas indeed grew up on LI, went to Hofstra University and grew up a life-long Knicks fan...all that could be a factor. I just don't know if I have the right guy now...Anyone know if CB switched agents at sometime during the season?
I hear what you guys are saying -- yeah it'll be hard to sign CB or any major FA outright -- but there are many factors involved here, some more unusual than others, where I think the possibility remains. I'm not ready to say 'ain't gonna happen' on anything here yet..
