Chris Bosh, Franchise Player?
The 2010 NBA free agent class is full of huge names — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amar'e Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Joe Johnson, etc.
But of those, only one player — Wade — has won a title. Only two — Wade and James — are clear-cut franchise players. But hold up, says Chris Bosh: you can build a team around him too.
“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 right about the perception — teams like the Knicks and Nets that have enough cap space to land a max contract have reportedly been hoping to get two of the top names on the market, not just one. To do so would require someone taking less than he could get elsewhere. I think the assumption would be the player to take less to compete for titles would be Bosh.
Honestly, this might be the best case yet for him staying in Toronto. If the Knicks come away from free agency with only Bosh, I'm not sure the fanbase, which has watched a collection of guys with no future on the team for two years, will react to the offseason as a success.
In Toronto, meanwhile, Bosh is the clear franchise player. It remains to be seen if a Bosh-led team can become a consistent playoff-appearer, let alone win a series, but there's no doubt that Bosh will be the man in Toronto. It's not a given that other teams in the league view him that way.
Follow Technorati