Mavs Prioritize Bosh For Summer-Of-14 Free Agency? No, No & No!
DALLAS (105.3 THE FAN) - NBA executives 'expect the Mavs to target Chris Bosh,' according to an ESPN report on Wednesday that plants a sloppy seed that has grown into an illogical and errant tree of information. Dallas has already firmed up its summer-of-2014 shopping list and Bosh stands atop it? This is nonsense on a trio of important levels, which I detail below.
The tale begins with a Brian Windhorst ESPN story that is actually about LeBron James' future. Tucked inside that story is this throwaway line: "The Dallas Mavericks will have cap space and some star power but league executives expect them to target another Heat free agent, Dallas native Bosh."
Then came RealGM's regurgitation of the throwaway line, turning it into a separate "news'' item:
The Mavericks are positioned to have salary cap room in search of superstar talent in the offseason's free agency, and NBA executives expect the organization to target Chris Bosh. Bosh is a Dallas native and reportedly received interest from the Mavericks in the summer of 2010 as well.
There are a trio of major basketball-related problems with the above assertions. ... all of them making the above assertions way off the mark.
3) BOSH'S CONTRACT: It's impossible to forecast Chris Bosh's summer-of-2014 free-agent future because ... he might not be a free agent in the summer of 2014.
Bosh's deal includes an ETO that can allow him to choose to remain with the Miami Heat while being paid $20,590,000 next season. If LeBron remains with the Heat, it would seem to increase the likelihood of Bosh doing the same. But in any event, a $20.59 million guarantee sits on the table for Bosh to stay in Miami.
That seems like a viable option.
Furthermore, Bosh has a player option for 2015. His guarantee should he exercise it is $22,112,500
Simply put, it is impossible for the Mavs or anyone else to "prioritize'' as a free agent a player who is certainly likely to not be a free agent at all.
2) BOSH'S HOMECOMING: In the summer of 2010, many assumed that Bosh would wish to leave Toronto to return "home'' to DFW, where he grew up. That summer, the player made it quite clear, on the record, that he did not grow up a Mavs fan, but was "more a fan of the NBA,'' adding that to this day, none of his family members are fans of the home team.
These things can change, of course. Money, circumstances, age, teammates, the wishes of your children's grandparents, all of it. But when RealGM makes a point to write that Bosh is a "Dallas native and reportedly received interest from the Mavericks in the summer of 2010 as well,'' they are wrong in making an issue of his hometown and as I recall, they are wrong in the second claim as well as the Mavs and Bosh never even met in the summer of 2010.
1) BOSH'S RANKING: I don't find it worth noting that fans might be down on the idea of pursuing Bosh (Mavs fans seem to like him as much as he likes the Mavs). For the moment, maybe it's not even worth noting that Bosh plays Dirk Nowitzki's position. Both those factors can be massaged, I suppose.
I believe if Windhorst could re-write his story, he'd soften up the Bosh-Mavs connection. (I'm also dubious about the multitudes of "NBA executives'' lining up to predict in November where maybe-free-agents will definitely land in July, but maybe that's just me.)
I believe RealGM is in the business of aggregating other people's work and hey, it's a living.
But there is stunning lack of logic here that helps the reader understand the bogus nature of the tale.
There will be a time when the Mavs truly do prioritize their shopping list. They did so last year in June, when DallasBasketball.com reported exclusively that Chris Paul was Priority 1A and Dwight Howard Priority 1B. After that, there wasn't a specific Priority List but rather "branches'' of priorities depending on certain dominoes falling. Andrew Bynum was crossed off the list; Jose Calderon was snapped up. Brandan Wright was made to wait; Monta Ellis was, from the very start, told "maybe, at the right price.''
In the summer of 2014, let's assume LeBron declares himself a free agent. And that Bosh does the same. And Melo and Granger are also available.
Which of those players do you think the Mavs will "priority-target''?
It's an easy an obvious answer that needn't be muddled by sloppiness or errant reporting. The Mavs (and every other team with cap room) will make the No. 1 player the No. 1 target.
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