Thursday, July 16, 2009

Will Bosh sign an extension?

As every NBA fan knows, July 1st, 2010, will be the start of a very interesting off-season. Several superstars, including Amare Stoudamire, Yao Ming, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James will be able to shop the market, and free to sign with other teams.

Because of this, every Raptor fan has that one big question on their mind—will Chris Bosh stay in Toronto?

Considering the fantastic off-season Bryan Colangelo and the Raptors’ front office have had, Bosh may be inclined to stay in Toronto. According to Bosh’s Twitter page, he seems very excited to work with Hedo Turkoglu, Devean George, and Antoine Wright next season. The Raptors also have much money to spend, so Chris will more than likely be welcoming other teammates to Toronto. Add the drafting of DeMar DeRozan, the Toronto Raptors could have a very bright future.

On the contrary, however, Bosh may still leave. Considering the Raptors play in Canada, the team plays somewhat under the radar, unlike other teams. Compared to the US, the market isn’t as well known in Canada.

Since Bosh is an all-star, he may feel like playing in the US is a better option to increase his popularity.

In a recent interview with Fan 590’s Eric Smith, Bryan Colangelo said he will offer Bosh an extension sometime this summer. Bosh has made it public he would like a max deal, so I’m guessing the Raptors will offer him around $17-19M per year.

NBA experts have predicted the salary cap in the 2010-2011 NBA season will be around $50-54M. That is a huge decrease from this upcoming season, as the salary cap for the 2009-2010 season is $57.4M. If these predictions are true, not only will these athletes take a potential big pay cut, but it will limit how many superstars go to a certain team.  Given this, Bosh may feel inclined to sign an extension. With the economy only getting worse, Bosh may be getting the most “bang for the buck” if he signs now, rather than waiting a year.

I don’t know where I stand on this—part of me says he’ll be a free agent next July, and another part wants me to believe he’ll sign an extension this summer. My gut feeling is saying he won’t sign an extension. That doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t leave Toronto, however—he may become a free agent next summer, to then sign a new contract with the Raptors.

Either way though, Colangelo is hoping Bosh will stay in Toronto—and it’s showing by this great off-season he’s putting together. The Raptors now have a very solid starting 5, and it appears a better bench will be added.

Chris Bosh will have to make some tough decisions in the near future. Hopefully, he will stay in Toronto for years to come, and the future will continue to be brighter for the team.

Answer my poll question. Will Bosh sign an extension? I want to see where other Raptor fans stand on this issue.

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