On Bosh, LeBron, Del Negro, other things

2010-07-06 Off By John Krolik

-I know that, officially speaking, this is when NBA fans are supposed to be hating LeBron. Having said that, can we take a second out of our busy anger schedules to get a little pissed at Chris Bosh?

I’m not saying that Bosh isn’t a great player. He’s an absolute force offensively. He can score efficiently from multiple spots on the floor. He can play pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop. He’s a quality rebounder. I even think he can become a plus defender if he has the right center behind him, like Rashard Lewis did when he came to the Magic. He’s a fantastic player, and the best thing about him is that he’d only be more effective on a good team.

However, it may behoove us to take a look at Bosh’s NBA career to date. He was drafted in 2003, just like LeBron was. He has won a total of three playoff games in seven seasons. He has not played a playoff game since 2008. He has been named to the All-NBA second team once. He has fewer player of the month awards than LeBron has MVPs. He was the starting power forward for the worst defensive team in basketball last season.

This dude is NOT a franchise player, but he’s become part of the “LeBron-Wade-Bosh” trinity because he’s a very good young big man in the summer of 2010 and doesn’t have Amar’e Stoudemire’s baggage.

Since he’s become a free agent, Bosh has made it clear that he won’t return to the team that drafted him, and isn’t returning his former GM’s calls. He’s made it equally clear that he won’t settle for anything less than the absolute max. Now he won’t join LeBron James in Cleveland because he doesn’t like the city enough. He could become the second-best player on a potential NBA dynasty, but he doesn’t want to spend a few months out of every year actually living in Cleveland.

Yeesh. Obviously, Bosh has every right to try and get as much money as he can and go to a city he wants to live in, but could somebody hold him a little bit accountable for it? LeBron has been acting like a jackass throughout most of this free-agency process. This I do not dispute.

But when it’s all said and done, LeBron has been trying to stay in his home city and take the team that drafted him to the promised land. Chris Bosh has come off as much less of an attention whore, but his priorities are a max deal and an apartment in or near a city he likes.

I’m not just saying this as a Cleveland fan; If I were a Chicago fan and a LeBron/Bosh pairing didn’t happen because Bosh demanded the max, I’d be pissed about that too. Or a Miami fan hoping to see a LeBron/Wade/Bosh superteam. Or a Houston fan, if he doesn’t end up pushing for that sign-and-trade. This dude is not a superstar, but he has the power to make one team truly great this off-season. And he’s dragged his feet up to this point. I’ll wait to see how everything plays out (and hold out some hope that an 11th-hour CLE-TOR sign-and-trade comes through), but right now Chris Bosh is not my favorite athlete.

In other news, I’m very sad that the Clippers went with Del Negro over Casey. Casey just can’t get a break, and he can really coach. Just another example of how the Clippers were/are non-players in the LeSweepstakes despite the fact they can put tons of talent around LeBron and play in Los Angeles. That’s all for tonight. Tomorrow, LeBron Eve.

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