Victoria Sports Online

by Sam Power

The Raptors’ disastrous season may get even worse. The Raps have already reached their salary cap, and their best player may opt for greener pastures. Chris Bosh is among many stars who become free agents this offseason. He joins Dwayne Wade and Lebron James as the biggest young stars who will be seeking huge money after their current contracts expire.

The chances that Bosh will resign in Toronto are slim to none. The Raptors missed out on the playoffs after a horrendous finish to the season. In February, there were talks of catching Boston or Atlanta for the fourth or fifth spot in the conference. But an injury to Chris Bosh in the spring revealed the Raptors’ true colours – they are a bottom half team.

The most disturbing aspect of the Raptors’ decline was the lack of leadership and effort without Chris Bosh. Bosh’s supporting cast did not step up in his absence. Blame can certainly be casted on Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, and Hedo Turkoglu, who can only be viewed as a free agent busts.

It’s hard to think of any reasons why Bosh would want to return to Toronto. His supporting players let Bosh and the city down, and Coach Jay Triano hardly looked like a coach who knows how to motivate or tactically prepare his team for victories.

Since Jay Triano took over for Sam Mitchell in December 2008, the Raptors have been plagued by the same two problems: defending and rebounding.

Triano has turned the Raptors into an up-tempo offensive juggernaut, but he has failed to turn them into a winning team. Not questioning his team’s effort following their disastrous finish to the season affirms the notion that Triano is not the right coach for the Raptors.

Raptors’ GM Brian Colangelo can shoulder some of the blame as well. His most glaring goof was throwing away a ridiculous amount of money on Turkoglu. The Turkish playmaker was brought in to make big plays and win games and he failed to deliver. Instead, Turkoglu complained to the coaching staff, complained to the media, and complained to photographers at nightclubs.

The long term signing of Jose Calderon seems like another GM blunder on Colangelo’s part. Calderon is a defensive liability, an inefficient shooter, and is a perennial injury prone player.

There is no doubt that Bosh will consider the greener pastures out there. Bosh holds several weapons of choice. New York and Chicago have cleared cap room for big signings. If the bright lights and prestige of New York and Chicago aren’t enough, there is also the option of playing closer to his Texas home in Dallas or Houston.

It is sad to say, but it is likely that Bosh will join the growing list of star players that left the Toronto Raptors just when the going got tough.