Can we agree on the following:
a) bosh clearly isn't on the same tier as a lebron or wade (i.e. not nearly as 'good');
b) bosh hasn't had the 'right' supporting cast put around him;
c) the fault of 'b' lies at the feet of management;
c) despite 'a' & 'b,' it seems clear many (most?) feel it is bosh's fault that he hasn't led the raptors to anything approaching success...and that his departure from the raptors could/should be viewed as a positive thing, a rebirth, a rejuvenation, etc.
so, we can all accept that bosh isn't as good a player as lebron or wade, right? and we also accept that he's had - to put it mildly - marginal talent playing alongside him for the bulk of his career? not counting VC (for obvious reasons), who has been the 'best' teammate bosh has had:
a) hedo
b) bargs
c) jose
d) TJ ford
e) mo-pete
f) someone else who was so awesome i can't even remember them
i guess i just have a hard time with how we can argue that bosh is both not on the same level as the truly elite players in the L, but also responsible for this team's lack of success, when so little talent has been put around him. perhaps i just find it a touch simple to make blanket statements about 'leadership,' when the masses who he is supposed to lead are, by & large, somewhat pathetic. i get the distinct impression that those making such statements have either not played the game at any kind of competitive level, or haven't done so in so long they've simply forgotten what it's like to play with either shitty players or - worse - lazy, uncommitted players.
at the end of the day, i really don't have a horse in this race - i'm resigned to the fact that bosh is going, and that the return package - if there is one - will leave the cupboard at least somewhat bare. i don't have much optimism that BC will find a taker for hedo or jose. i don't have much optimism that either DD or weems will become the steady, consistent contributors at the wing spots that this team so desparately needs, and i don't have much optimism that either alabi or davis are going to be anything more than solid rotation players...and that that won't be the case for at least another season or two. and i know beyond a shadow of doubt that bargnani is here for the longterm.
think what you will of bosh, how he handles himself, how he craves attention, yada yada yada...i couldn't really care less, because i never felt it was the case that he let his outside interests impact his on-court production. and it does appear likely that he's better suited to be a cog in the wheel than the wheel itself, and i concede that the likelihood of a 'build around' guy coming to TO via trade, the draft or free agency is remote. still...
i keep trying to find teams that continued to lose their best players just as they were hitting their primes that found success at the highest level, but the list is non-existent. i guess BC is trying to set another precedent (after his 'euro'-centric expiriment).
a) bosh clearly isn't on the same tier as a lebron or wade (i.e. not nearly as 'good');
b) bosh hasn't had the 'right' supporting cast put around him;
c) the fault of 'b' lies at the feet of management;
c) despite 'a' & 'b,' it seems clear many (most?) feel it is bosh's fault that he hasn't led the raptors to anything approaching success...and that his departure from the raptors could/should be viewed as a positive thing, a rebirth, a rejuvenation, etc.
so, we can all accept that bosh isn't as good a player as lebron or wade, right? and we also accept that he's had - to put it mildly - marginal talent playing alongside him for the bulk of his career? not counting VC (for obvious reasons), who has been the 'best' teammate bosh has had:
a) hedo
b) bargs
c) jose
d) TJ ford
e) mo-pete
f) someone else who was so awesome i can't even remember them
i guess i just have a hard time with how we can argue that bosh is both not on the same level as the truly elite players in the L, but also responsible for this team's lack of success, when so little talent has been put around him. perhaps i just find it a touch simple to make blanket statements about 'leadership,' when the masses who he is supposed to lead are, by & large, somewhat pathetic. i get the distinct impression that those making such statements have either not played the game at any kind of competitive level, or haven't done so in so long they've simply forgotten what it's like to play with either shitty players or - worse - lazy, uncommitted players.
at the end of the day, i really don't have a horse in this race - i'm resigned to the fact that bosh is going, and that the return package - if there is one - will leave the cupboard at least somewhat bare. i don't have much optimism that BC will find a taker for hedo or jose. i don't have much optimism that either DD or weems will become the steady, consistent contributors at the wing spots that this team so desparately needs, and i don't have much optimism that either alabi or davis are going to be anything more than solid rotation players...and that that won't be the case for at least another season or two. and i know beyond a shadow of doubt that bargnani is here for the longterm.
think what you will of bosh, how he handles himself, how he craves attention, yada yada yada...i couldn't really care less, because i never felt it was the case that he let his outside interests impact his on-court production. and it does appear likely that he's better suited to be a cog in the wheel than the wheel itself, and i concede that the likelihood of a 'build around' guy coming to TO via trade, the draft or free agency is remote. still...
i keep trying to find teams that continued to lose their best players just as they were hitting their primes that found success at the highest level, but the list is non-existent. i guess BC is trying to set another precedent (after his 'euro'-centric expiriment).
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