Even here in Milan the NBA All Star Game is big news. No, the talk around the water cooler isn’t whether this is Chris Bosh’s last ASG as a Toronto Raptor. Two really good stories on Bosh today that I thought I would point out:
First from ESPN, an unlikely source given the subject matter. Marc Stein though takes a good approach in his column:
““It’s funny you say that, because I was thinking about it. I was just looking at what people say and it’s like, ‘Chris is going to go here and play with him or this, this and that.’ I’m like, ‘Wait a minute.’ I feel like I should be built around. And maybe that’s just my ego talking, but I feel that I’m a very good player in this league and I’m only going to get better. So … maybe we should be getting somebody [in Toronto].”
Bosh is sure to field more probing questions about his future Friday when he meets the bulk of the media in town to cover All-Star Weekend. But the above comments, at the very least, give more insight into our assertion made back in November that Bosh likes his situation in Toronto more than many of us south of the border want to believe.”
That comment couldn’t be more accurate. Look, I don’t know if he is staying or not. Here is what I believe:
I don’t think Bosh is a liar. I don’t think he knows what he wants to do. If you read more of Stein’s column you will see that he want’s to be the guy and not the 2nd guy. He can be that in Toronto. I think the money is irrelevant as he will get it no matter what, here or there via sign and trade. What is important is winning. IF, and I say IF the Raptors can somehow go a run in the playoffs, I can’t see Bosh leaving. If they pull a Brady, and fizzle out early or not make the playoffs at all, I think all bets are off.
Now, Mike Ganter in today’s Toronto Sun hits a homerun (or a really long three pointer at the buzzer to win the game 
):
” Maybe if the members of the American media throwing these blanket statements around so cavalierly had been in the countless pre-game, post-game, pre-shootaround, post-practice scrums that those of us who are actually around Bosh on a near daily basis have been, they wouldn’t be so quick to write off his Raptors future.
Now there’s no doubt that Bosh has confidantes in the media south of the border. He is an American. He grew up in Dallas. He helped his country win a gold medal in Beijing two summers ago. There is no way he hasn’t made those relationships.
He might even be more comfortable expressing future plans with that select few. We get that.
But Bosh has been so steadfastly adamant that he has not made up his mind about next season, let alone next week, that it’s hard to accept that anyone who has spent any time looking into his future could dismiss it. ”
It’s nice to know that the MSMers are getting us fed up with this bs as we fans are. Ganter does a great job running down all the accounts of Bosh’s exit and providing what I believe to be some real analysis on where things sit.
Marc Stein’s ESPN article on Chris Bosh can be found here.
Mike Ganter’s story on Chris Bosh is here.
