If Toronto doesn't turn things around soon they will likely be forced to trade Bosh at the deadline. We could offer LMA and pieces(say Miller, Bayless, Blake, Travis or Webster) for a resigned Bosh. Would you do this trade? Would Toronto? Personally LMA has always been one of my favorite players on the Blazers but I question his desire to bring it every night where as Bosh plays hard every game. Bosh averages almost 24 points and 11 rebounds. On LMA's best night he gets 11 rebounds and rarely gets to the free throw line. LMA has shot 98 free throws and Bosh 280. I hope LMA turns out to be as good as Bosh but I don't think he has the competitive desire to be as good as Bosh. By the way I believe Bosh was one of the players KP mentioned when he said there are only a few players in the league that he would trade LMA for. Yes I would trade LMA and pieces for resigned Bosh.
Bosh would be leaving a lot of money on the table if he re-signed before the off-season, so that isn't going to happen. I wouldn't trade Aldridge and pieces for only a guaranteed half-season of Bosh. If I knew for a fact that Bosh would re-sign in Portland long-term, then I'd definitely do it.
It would have to be a sign and trade. Even then, the Raptors can get better offers than LMA. A frontline of LMA and Bargnani is just sad.
LMA will be easier to trade in the offseason if we were to entertain this. Bosh is also not going to sign until after the season. I would definitely do this next offseason if Bosh wanted a sign and trade.
For me, it would depend on the "pieces" Bosh is better than LA, but in our offense, with our other great rebounders, and with our pace, I wonder how much better he would be?
Its as if you guys completely forgot the raptors were in this trade too. And no, they wouldn't do it. They'd be getting better offers than that.
I agree with the first part (that they wouldn't do it), but I'm not so sure about the second part. If Bosh wants out, he's going to have a lot more leverage than the Raptors; even if a sign and trade is worked out, my guess is that the Raptors would be lucky to get a player with even LMA's skill level coming back to them. At best I see them maybe getting a decent draft prospect and enough contract ballast to make such a deal work.
Out of the two, I think LA is the one who suffers because of the Blazer's pace. He beats his guy down court several times a night, all for not. But he struggles in the half court often b/c his offense is limited to catch-and-shoots from the perimeter, or turn around jumpers in the post. Not much else he can do (consistently) Bosh, on the other hand can face up like a SG/SF and shoot a jumper or get to the rim. He's so much more versatile offensively. Could he co-exist with Roy? That is a concern.
Without a guaranteed contract from Bosh? No. Right now I am unsure of how many of Lamarcus problems are due to Nate coaching rather than Lamarcus himself. He constantly gets switched to guard guys on the perimeter. It is really hard to be a defensive presence on the inside and a good rebounder if you spend a lot of time on the perimeter guarding guards.
If Bosh and Roy could not work, it would be time to start thinking about trading Brandon. We are not going to win a championship with four other guys standing around while he goes 1 on 5.
