THE BASKETBALL SAMURAI: The Business of Bosh

The public business end of Chris Bosh’s free agency saga, spit in large part through his twitter account, took another turn this week when word of a “top five” list of preferred destinations was supposedly submitted to the Toronto Raptors, an issue many outlets reported they confirmed with, management, specifically general manager Bryan Colangelo. Bosh’s agent Henry Thomas refuted the act in an interview Bosh linked through his twitterage.

The submission of a list would seem to fly against the intent of Bosh’s social media assault following a regular season-long polite silence on impending free agency matters. Various “top five” and “waiting on LeBron” reports have recently followed a series of online statements from Bosh indicating (cryptically suggesting?) that perhaps he may not be long for Toronto. While the official start of the free agency season has yet to come the usual warm up and speculation that has been media blitzed over the last few years seems ratcheted up another level this year; media drenched and in some cases, media made. Players have gotten in on the fun. Bosh’s use of the new mediums to join the fray is good business, which is where our points converge. There will be as many as 12 NBA teams with legitimate and green light interest in the 26 year-old power forward. Bosh is reportedly set to wait out similar free agent decisions faced by his bigger fish draft mates LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Bosh has said he will keep any and all options open regarding the end game. So why then, a list?

The “top five” supposedly includes the Raptors, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers. That would exclude all three of his home state of Texas teams - the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets. The Mavericks are likely facing the reality of their own franchise power forward Dirk Nowitzki opting into the free agency pool and the big D is where Bosh began his rise to stardom as a high school phenomenon. However, the most interesting of the exclusions is the Rockets who have already made it known that Bosh will be a prime target come open season. At the very least the Rockets represent a team that is already prepared to tighten any bidding war, which will not be about dollars but rather lifestyle and opportunity. Bosh will most likely get the maximum allowable deal either by resigning with the Raptors for six years and $120M or getting just as much via sign-and-trade to another team in exchange for returning talent. In that scenario the theory is that everybody wins, and despite Thomas’ insistence that the sign and trade route has not been prioritized in the top slot should Bosh decide to leave, his player agent code requires him to pursue just that should the situation demand. That time is officially weeks away, but it has to be on the table from the outset of any talks.

Thomas has shown over the last few days that a good agent is still required to soothe the waters of discontent and popular image despite the social media evolution. And yet the two are now inextricably intertwined in the world of sports and perhaps in no league more than the NBA. Bosh went from having a gentlemanly, old school, behind closed-doors, keep-it-in-the-locker-room reputation to a toying and pre-emptive striker angling for the best situation he can ever hope to create. Nothing wrong with that, but the impression left with the about-face can rub people the wrong way…or not. Bosh’s twitter followership has increased rapidly since his barrage of communication blurbs hit the fan last month and in the world of big brand marketing Bosh is one of the more in tune-with-the-times athletes (he was the first to have an iphone application), if not the most talented or marketable. He sure knows how to squeeze the stone though.

And it has now carried itself into the world of conflicting information and border-blurring media lines. Removing “team captain” from his profile, changing his location listing from Toronto to “everywhere” to now killing rumors of a list and proposed happy endings. That is the floodgate Bosh was determined to keep closed during the regular season but now seems all too eager to kick down, but who said his timing was off? Isn’t he the same dude who came out guns a blazing with a self-promoting all-star campaign through viral video? Should we not have expected the same with $120M at play?

Wasn’t it Paul Pierce’s social networking dribble that demanded brooms in anticipated of a sweep over the Orlando Magic in the eastern conference finals series after just a 2-0 lead? Then suddenly it wasn’t Pierce, rather a alleged mastermind hacker who broke into Pierce’s account to sabotage the poor all-star and quickly absolve the Truth of any premature celebrations, in case the Magic, you know, decided to show up. They did for at least one night to make it a 3-1 series so… thank god for “hackers”. As athletes become more intent on using social tooling as a propaganda barricade their statements delivered through the new “bridge” mediums with be held to more traditional media accountability. Until then, deniability is just a “hack” away.

Not that Bosh has denied or confirmed much at all. The betting here is that the five-time all-star is in new digs by the time summer fizzles away and the process could be a long one for Raptors fans if he is indeed waiting for dominos like James, Wade, Amare Stoudemire and Dirk Nowitzki to fall. All will demand maximum contracts so it really does become more about what hey are surrounded with. Bosh had the least amount of team support among the star free agents and was the only one to miss the postseason. As the big dog he couldn’t help to mend a fractured locker room enough to hold onto to an eighth seed in the eastern conference. He wasn’t given a trade to aid the process. With much of his support signed to long-term deals they aren’t living up to does Bosh have enough confidence in Colangelo, whose team has missed the playoffs the last two seasons after extensive makeovers in each of the past two summers, to make it right? Or is he more trusting that the GM will be able to deliver a max contract and a trip to a new team?

Whether you hear the news here first or through Bosh’s own new school release, the impact of his answer to that question will be substantial. Without another All-Star at the ready in Toronto his departure could rock the franchise like no other exit in club history, no doubt a concern for both player and the optically obsessed brass. Will the team recover should he wind up elsewhere? Of course, and it could just as easily happen quickly as it could slowly, depending on what the capable Colangelo can mine from any S & T should it be necessary. The truth is that Bosh is a great player who has done well individually but has been unable to take his teams along for the ride, for many reasons and some outside of his own. That is neither slight nor condemnation, simply history.

The simpler truth is that there are only a few teams Bosh would even consider that have an opening for a franchise player and Toronto is one of them. If superstar free agents shun New York the Knicks club will be another. His apparent willingness to play for the Lakers, Heat and Bulls – all with clearly entrenched franchise players – may be his own acknowledgment that he needs a Batman, not a Robin.

In the meantime expect the tweets to fly, the media to run and the fans to have their hearts pulled and tugged at while cash swirls around it all like the tornado free agency can often be. Its all fair game - has been for years – and regardless of the outcome Bosh should be treated no differently as the eye of the storm.