This Chris Bosh era in Toronto has officially ended.

Bosh appeared on ESPN today announcing his decision to play for the Miami Heat.

It is unclear whether or not Bosh left via a sign and trade. If Bosh signed with Miami without the Raptors and Heat working out a sign and trade agreement, the Raptors will get nothing in return from his departure. Bosh will also leave approximately 30 million dollars on the table.

Miami might not be done. LeBron James is appearing on ESPN tomorrow to announce his decision of where he will play next year. If Miami is able to shed Michael Beasley’s 5 million dollar contract, they will have created enough cap space to sign LeBron.

To have a little fun, lets assume that LeBron does sign with Miami.

Would a superteam of LeBron, Bosh and Wade work?

Yes.

Skeptics argue that all three (especially LeBron and Wade) need to have the ball in their hands often and be the alpha male’s of their teams.

However, the simple fact is that no team in the NBA could defend all three of these players on the court at once. You cannot double team three players.

Key to the success of this dream team would be Pat Riley’s ability to court cheap veteran free agents. Riley would have the task of convincing players to accept substantial pay cuts to play along side these three all-stars in Miami. The quality of the remaining roster would be very important. The Heat would be an injury or two away from disaster, if the remaining roster spots were not filled out effectively.

In the end, I believe LeBron will resign with Cleveland to try and protect his legacy. LeBron has been drawing comparisons to Michael Jordan even before he stepped foot on an NBA court. Jordan was drafted in Chicago and won all six of his championships in Chicago. LeBron was drafted by Cleveland and has not won any championships in Cleveland.

LeBron still has some pieces available in the free agent market to try and convince to play along side him in Cleveland. Carlos Boozer and David Lee are two players who could play alongside LeBron to try and create a winning formula in Cleveland.

All I do know for sure now is that LeBron James’ announcement Thursday could change the landscape of the NBA for many years to come.

You may have noticed some new writers around here. I’m trying to get you guys some fresh opinions on the team/league side while I TRY to stick to the media side. Let me and them know what you think.

In the meantime, as the clock continues to drip down to the beginning of both NBA and NHL free agent season there are a couple of interesting articles around, especially on the Raptors.

First, Bosh himself decided to crawl out from whichever rock he has been hiding under and offer this gem up:

“After all these years… Just 24 hrs left….. Wow. I’m getting anxious.”

Translation: I can’t wait to be wooed. Whomever tells me how great I am, buys me the nicest dinner, flies me on the nicest plane, wins.

Now, over at Yahoo there are two articles of note:

The first, names names in potential sign and trade situations should Bryan Colangelo get what he hopes for, namely the opportunity to realize a return in this debacle”

“Sources said the Raptors will try to acquire draft picks and young players in return for Bosh. They would likely ask for forward Michael Beasley and point guard Mario Chalmers in any deal with the Miami Heat. If Bosh were to go to the Chicago Bulls, the Raptors like forward Taj Gibson and center Joakim Noah, though Noah could prove impossible to pry from Chicago. If Bosh settles on the New York Knicks, the Raptors would try to engage in a double sign-and-trade that sends Knicks forward David Lee to Toronto.

Sorry folks, I’m just presenting the news, don’t shoot the messenger.

“Wade and Bosh will reportedly meet with the Knicks and New Jersey Nets in New York shortly after the start of free agency. Thomas wouldn’t confirm any appointments, but said it’s possible Wade and Bosh could decide to meet with teams together.”

Ahhhhhhh how nice, are they going to hold hands on the flights???????

meanwhile, perhaps a more interesting article, also on Yahoo suggests that Bosh shouldn’t be the object of Toronto Raptors fans disdain, but rather Bryan Colangelo:

“Bryan Colangelo didn’t get it all right with Chris Bosh. Actually, he got most of it wrong. And this is why Bosh, in Colangelo’s own words, is “likely” to leave Toronto sometime this summer.
Which is a shame, because Toronto itself didn’t really do anything to deserve losing its best player without compensation. The Raptors fans remain rabid and intelligent; a good decade after quite a few of them remained, well, rabid. Playing at the Air Canada Centre, even if you’re pulling down one win for every two tries, seems like a pretty worthwhile experience.”

Just wait, Kelly Dwyer is just getting warmed up:

“The problem was Colangelo’s execution, and the seeming arrogance that came with it.

The guy has more or less been revealed. And as damning as his big moves have been, the smaller ones tell nearly as big a story. The hiring of bit players whose names had been tossed around the NBA for a while, but ones that any scout with any salt tossed over his shoulder (or, perhaps, an understanding of advanced pro basketball statistical metrics) would have run far, far away from.

Luke Jackson. Juan Dixon. Cezary Trybanski. Fred Jones. Even T.J. Ford. Jermaine O’Neal, though you can understand Colangelo’s attempt at giving the former Pacer another chance. Jake Voskuhl. Like the guy, but come on — in 2008, Jake Voskuhl?

And, yes, the big moves were damning. Taking Andrea Bargnani first overall in a weak draft isn’t the worst thing he could have done, but bidding against himself to offer Bargnani an eight-figure yearly (once averaged out) contract extension years before he had to? That’s pretty bad. And arrogant. Handing Jose Calderon, a fine player, nearly the same? With a trade kicker tossed in?

The O’Neal trade? Rare is the deal that sees you send out two centers who arguably (at least on a per-minute level, with defense thrown into the mix) outplay the one they’re traded for. And in O’Neal’s lone half-season with the Raptors, Rasho Nesterovic and Roy Hibbert (down in Indiana) were pretty close to that on most nights.

The killer was Hedo Turkoglu. One of the worst deals of the decade, tossed at a 30-year-old (red flag) who was willing to leave a championship contender for a few extra million (there’s another red flag), who ducked out of a verbal agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers (so many of them, flappin’ in the wind), and who should have accrued a history of red flags in terms of production throughout his career. He was never nearly as good as Colangelo thought him to be, least of all not in a season that would see him turn 31 halfway through.

Wow- them’s fighting words wouldn’t ya say?????

Not to be out done, Michael Grange chimes in as well (and Grange has been, in my opinion fantastic on Colangelo and the Raptors):

“In any case, in his four years in Toronto, Colangelo’s wheel-and-deal magic act has been as entertaining as anything the floor. Get ready for another summer of the same.

The difference now is that any right-thinking fan will note the magic man’s frayed top hat and tails, and be entirely justified in checking if the bunny is alive, dead or this year’s version of Turkoglu.”

Lastly, here is the latest from Doug Smith:

“Okay, what am I missing here?

Last week, the night of the draft, Bryan Colangelo sat at the podium discussing Ed Davis and whatever else was on his mind and said, and I quote:

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’m confident Chris is coming back.”

Last night, I understand he went on the radio and said it’s not likely that Chris is coming back and all heck breaks loose?

Semantics, people. Old news.

Here’s the deal: Barring some seismic shift in the NBA landscape, Chris Bosh is not returning to Toronto. He’s gone. Out of here. Entirely by his choice, mind you. But it’s bye-bye. Finished. So long. See ya.

The radio revelation was nothing, I have the feeling the Raptor hierarchy has felt for weeks that they’d better start hoping Bosh wants to go somewhere there’s a really good sign-and-trade deal possible because the “coming back” ship has sailed. ”

I didn’t see Smith’s point, so paint me guilty as I thought Colangelo dropped a bomb when he was on Prime Time Sports with Mccown.

Interesting times indeed wouldn’t you say????

The first Yahoo article is here

The second Yahoo article is here

Michael Grange is here

Doug Smith is here

This story isn’t going to stop until either he is signed or traded. It’s one thing when Steven A Smith says it, when Chad Ford on ESPN.com starts talking….:

“Now do you understand why the Bosh rumors are flying? I can’t speak to the veracity of Stephen A. Smith’s report. However, the word around the league is that Bosh wants to leave. Bryan Colangelo says that Bosh hasn’t told him that. Bosh has said he hasn’t told Colangelo that. But what about Bosh’s agent? Or someone else close to Bosh? Even if it’s never been said, isn’t the writing on the wall? The question is, is Colangelo better off doing something now or waiting until this summer. There’s an argument for both approaches. It sounds pretty strongly that Colangelo is taking the latter approach. I’ve heard from a couple of NBA teams that he’s been pretty strong in telling them he’s not trading Bosh right now. But if the right offer came along … wouldn’t he have to look at it?”

How far away is this team from being competitive? Is this going to be good before it matters with respect to Bosh?

“I think Colangelo would need to get a young potential superstar back. He can’t give Bosh away. This summer, if things look like re-signing Bosh in 2010 isn’t going to happen, it could be much less. That’s why I think there’s an arguement that you trade him now. A team in contender mode might be willing to give up more to have him for two title runs. As for Cleveland, they don’t have the pieces to make a deal. But I wonder if a Miami deal that sent Michael Beasley, Shawn Marion’s expiring contract and perhaps a future first or Daequan Cook might do it? If I was Pat Riley I’d jump all over that. A Bosh, Wade connection would be awesome. ”

Bryan, do you have a pulse? Does anyone in the GTA care??? Are we going to have to beg Bosh to stay again????