I'd give up whatever it took outside of Roy and Oden to get Bosh. As much as I like Batum, Bosh is a player that could push a core from really good to great. If Portland could get him without giving up Batum, it would be an amazing coup. Some package of Aldridge, Bayless, Rudy, draft picks, JPEC...would be fantastic. Assuming Bosh was okay with being signed-and-traded to Portland, that kind of package would be actually pretty good for Toronto if they were losing Bosh anyway.
Why would Chris Bosh choose Oklahoma City over Portland? I realize we aren't a big market, but Portland is much more attractive as a city than OKC. What a shit hole.
I wouldn't give up Batum. At least, I don't think so. But he can be a bit passive sometimes, too... However, I would give up Claver (who was ranked above Batum when they were both star teenagers in Europe) and Freeland, and that might count for something with a Eurocentric front office. And Joel's contract could definitely be a plus, particularly if it's insured, and particularly if they can offload a contract they don't like along with it. If OKC gets Bosh, though, I might cry. Do they really still have that much cap space? Fuckers.
The idea is that he'd like the proximity to his home town of Dallas. I don't really buy that, though. It might be a nice fringe benefit, but I doubt it would be a decision-making factor over money, money, role, money and perhaps chance of winning.
If money is a factor, which it obviously is, then Houston makes the most sense since there is no state income tax in Texas. At Bosh's salary, he'd pay 11% in income tax to the state of Oregon versus 0% to the state of Texas. That's almost $2 million/per in taxes.
Would Bosh like to play alongside a gunning SF or alongside a big strong center? I think the latter would be more appealing. (When was the last time a team succeeded with two star big-scoring forwards? I keep thinking of Milwaukee with Big Dog and pre-alchoholism Vin Baker. Others?) Whether he thinks Oden or Yao qualifies is the question.
Can anyone find any quotes from McMillan on Bosh or vice versa when both were serving the USA in the Olympics?
Depends on perspective. They have better winter weather, lower taxes, 3 times larger African American population (15% vs. 6% in Portland), and in Bosh's case he'd be a couple hours from home (Dallas).
Playing alongside "Michael Fucking Jordan" (Durant) probably has a small amount of appeal as well. There is one reason I'd be extremely hesitant to trade Nic: With him gone, we have God-awful perimeter D. Oden/Bosh/Camby will be straddled with foul trouble constantly.
I guess it comes down to this: is Batum/LMA better than Webster/Bosh? I like Batum, and I like him more than Webster, but I like Bosh a lot better than LMA in our offense. If we had Steve Nash running us up and down the floor, maybe not. But as is?
Thing is, I just can't see it taking Batum. If Bosh tells Toronto he wants to go to Portland, please work out a S&T, and we offered Aldridge, Rudy and Joel, I can see them haggling for a bit, but ultimately, they risk pissing off another franchise player of theirs, and getting nothing in return. Is nothing better than Aldridge and Rudy? Now, I am sure some teams might be able to offer alittl emore, but if he said you can get players, or I will sign somewhere with cap space, and all you guys will get in a trade is a TPE.
This sort of underplays the friction between Texans and Oklahomians. From what I understand, the two states feel about each other the same way Oregonians feel about Southern California.
Doesn't Florida also have no income tax? If so, then I'd think Miami (if Wade stays put) would be a more desirable option than Houston
I would not trade Batum. IMO, with the way he's developing I would say he's the second most important Blazer after Roy going forward.
