Sport Be Sporty: April 2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

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Solving The Bosh Puzzle: The Boston Celtics Piece

So one day in late April, I checked in on my blog and noticed a lack of something. Sifting through them, I found pieces on Hedo, the Young Gunz, the Amazing Race, video games, the Olympics, etc. But the one thing that was truly missing was a piece about the franchise - CB4. And yeah, sure, maybe I did that because every other media outlet was beating the whole "Chris Bosh" topic to death; but still.

Like many others, I don't want to take Bosh for granted. And so with the realization that he may be gone very soon, I wanted to dedicate the next 30 days or so to him with my writing and this very blog. After all, this may be my last chance to discuss him on here.

The mission - should you choose to read it - is simple. Everyday, I'll breakdown a different team's outlook in regards to acquiring our franchise player. We'll take a look at how a potential transaction will affect both sides of the spectrum, and whether or not such a move could potentially go down.

Disclaimer: Let's please keep in mind that I'm not majoring in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement; so if there's a few errors here and there in that regards, please let me know. Thanks!

Yesterday's Piece: The Atlanta Hawks

Today's Piece: The Boston Celtics

Players of Interests
- Rajon Rondo
- Kendrick Perkins
- Glen Davis
- Their fans to admit what the TD in "TD Garden" really stands for?

Breakdown:
We all realized that the Celtics sold their soul to the devil when they signed on to bring the Big 3 to Boston. To summarize: Mortgage your future for a few years of legitimately contending for a championship. As well worth the ride was, it's now time to finally break it all up.

Everyone but Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Glen Davis, Rajon Rondo, and Kendrick Perkins are expected to hit free agency this year - yeah I know, not exactly the most threatening of teams. Right now, the biggest variable (and what has most Celtics fans concerned with) is whether or not they choose to re-sign Paul Pierce. He has a player option for next year worth around 22 million. But as lofty as a payday that may sound, he's better off opting for free agency and trying to snatch what will probably be the last big long term deal of his career.

So then it comes down to this: Do you give Pierce a big contract out of loyalty to one of the greatest Celtics of all time? Or do you finally part ways and realize it's best to rebuild while you wait out the remaining years on KG's and Wallace's disgusting contracts. I'm not sure what management is thinking, but I do know a lot of Celtics fans are either leaning or at least expecting what they call "A Return to the Dark Age".

Toronto and Boston really aren't the best of trading partners when it comes to Bosh; actually they're quite awful. The Raps don't want to trade Bosh to a divisional rival, and Bosh doesn't want to play on a rebuilding team. On top of that, I'm pretty sure Boston can just outright sign Chris if they wanted to depending on the cap amount next year. Of course, you also have to take into account the unlikeliness of that happenings considering Bosh really would like that extra 6th year only Toronto can give him in a Sign And Trade. Precedent in the NBA shows that no one can turn down an extra 30 million dollars.

I know Raptors fans would love Rondo, but that's certainly not happening. Ray Allen would be nice, but he won't be on the team next year. So what the heck do they have? Draft picks perhaps? But certainly, they would hold onto those right? If Bosh MUST go to Boston, I'm expecting whatever expirings they have in return, a fat TPE, as well as whatever draft picks they have for the next year or two.

The Preferred Scenario:
Raptors Trades Chris Bosh
Boston Trades Kendrick Perkins (expiring), Glen Davis (expiring), TPE, future draft picks

In this ugly looking trade, the Raps get the best of what Boston is willing to give up. I would prefer Rajon Rondo coming back, but obviously we'll try to keep this as realistic as possible. With this, Boston transitions from one of the best PFs of the last decade in Garnett to one of the best future PFs in Bosh. Paired up with Rondo, they could become one of the best big-small duos in the league. But with a rapidly aging team around them, the Celtics need to get young and athletic quick before they can start thinking championships again (hard to do with Garnett and Wallace' contracts). On the other hand, the Raptors get two small expiring contracts and serviceable big-men that will bring much needed swagger to this team. With the possibility of Boston struggling, those draft picks may turn out to be lottery picks as well.

More Likely Scenario:
We Just Stay Away From Each Other

I can pretty much guarantee this happens.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

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Solving The Bosh Puzzle: The Atlanta Hawks Piece

Players of Interests:
- Joe Johnson
- Josh Smith
- Jamal Crawford
- Marvin Williams
- Al Horford
- Jeff Teague

Breakdown:
Atlanta's an odd case - probably so odd that it may not have been the best of teams to start off with this month long project. On one hand, the Hawks boast a plethora of talent that Toronto could find intriguing, yet at the same time Atlanta's future outlook isn't exactly as clear cut as some may think. The organization has always struggled to put fans into seats, and their owners have always been picky in regards to the financial side of things.

Right now, the word on the street is that they would like to sell their draft pick this year, and do whatever it takes to get Joe Johnson to re-sign. And so it really hinges on that alone - the value of the Hawks as trading partners varies depending on whether they retain Johnson or not. I feel with Johnson, Atlanta ownership will be more inclined to go way over the tax with two max players.

So let's say they do re-sign Joe Johnson for the max and then attempt to grab a 2nd max player in Bosh. What can they give the Raps?

Well obviously we can cross Johnson out. Because ATL doesn't want Bosh if JJ isn't their to pair them up, and Bosh doesn't want anything to do with ATL if he can't play with Joe.

They really don't have any expiring contracts of note - other than Jamal Crawford - and I don't think they send him off to us. As the reigning 6th man of the year, Jamal played too big of a role for the Hawks. On that note, I think he's just as important to the Hawks as Johnson is.

What does catch the eye right away however is their 4 and 5 position. With Bosh incoming, the Hawks present themselves with an interesting scenario. Right now, they have Josh Smith and Horford manning the inside. In my opinion, there's not enough room for a trio that includes Bosh. So possibly - we could end up with either Josh Smith or Al Hordford, both of whom would significantly help our pathetic defense.

And then of course there's the other "scenario". Atlanta could simply play Smith at the 3 spot - something he's well capable of - and have a nasty front-court of Horford/Bosh/Smith. With Bibby, Johnson, and Crawford providing the threats from the perimeter, that's a championship kind of team.

In this case, a Sign and Trade would most certainly revolve around Marvin Williams. Though not exactly the best of returns in regards to our defensive needs in the paint, Marvin provides us with that scoring wing who is capable of defending the perimeter as well. Fairly young at 24 year old, the North Carolina product has proven he can be efficient and score in bunches when given the touches. He hasn't quite become what the Hawks expected him to be when they picked him with the 2nd pick in the 2005 NBA draft. But perhaps a new scenery - and getting away from the shot heavy duo of Johnson and Crawford - will inspire him to breakout. Throw in a couple fillers as well as a TPE, and we're as set as we could possibly be in a trade that involves Atlanta.

My Preferred Scenario:
Raptors Trade Chris Bosh
Hawks Trade Josh Smith, and Maurice Evans (3 mil expiring)

Perhaps the details need to be worked out in that trade to match everything up, but an ideal return if the Hawks were to be our partners would involve Josh Smith. He'd provide us with one of the best help defenders in the league, as well as some much needed athleticism. For Atlanta, they get Bosh to return to the place where he played college basketball and gives Joe Johnson another max player to roll with. Immediately, they have one of the best inside-outside combos with Bosh and Johnson/Crawford.

More Likely Scenario:
Raptors Trade Chris Bosh
Hawks Trade Marvin Williams, Maurice Evans, Jeff Teague and/or Future 1st round draft pick, small TPE perhaps?

In this scenario, Atlanta goes all-in kind of like how Boston did a couple of years ago. They throw away their future for a chance at genuinely contending. The only difference is their talent isn't in the twilight of their careers. This would bring a ton of excitement to Atlanta, and would send us back into rebuilding mode with assets we could develop or flip in a future trade. It doesn't look like much, but it would probably be what we'd end up getting if Bosh was dead-set on going to Atlanta.