Time To Move Chris Bosh

Consider the NBA a game of managing investments. The Toronto Raptors might want to manage theirs before it walks out the front door and sets the franchise back by half a decade.

Since they drafted Chris Bosh, they've enjoyed exactly one season in which they had a record better than .500. They've never made it out of the first round, and even if you factor in his age, those numbers are simply inexcusable.

Perhaps the one thing keeping Bosh on Toronto fans' good sides is that he excels at all aspects of the game that show up on the box score. Certainly, Bosh appears to be the lone Raptor going to the line, and on some nights, the only guy who grabs a rebound.

You add in the other various factors, such as his attitude, team-first mentality, and his status as the heir to the throne of Carter, and you start to grasp why some fans feel the need to chant "MVP" every time he touches the ball.

So is Bosh a glorified stat-stuffer or a legitimate franchise player? I'll take the former 10 games out of 10. His playing well or not playing well has absolutely no influence on the game. 

His game is absolutely out of touch with the rest of his team's offensive plan. He brings next to nothing defensively. On offense, although he has a very unique skill-set for someone of his height, he is undoubtedly a ball-stopper, and someone you can never run an entire offense through. Worse, he is playing out of position.

That's right. The light should click soon for those who watch him that Bosh is very much an oversized small forward whose success as a big man comes from his combination of height and quickness.

Besides a smooth jumpshot which he uses far too often and a jab step blow by which usually results in a trip to the charity stripe, Bosh has absolutely nothing to write home about on the offensive end.

For every basket he scores with his combination of height and quickness, he gives up a basket on the other end due to his absolute inability to guard any big men in the league, from the Duncans and Mings to the absolute worst role players.

His base is simply not strong enough to hold his position, and unless he's guarding Kwame Brown, who would no doubt drop the ball before attempting to score, he's going to get scored upon.

The Raptors have seen the worst of days with Bosh at the helm. He's praised as a leader for his apparent passion, but in reality he embodies none of the traits required to be one. He gets to the line, but is usually rewarded two-three bogus calls every game because of how easily he gets moved around.

If Dwight Howard was given that kind of love, I'm sure we'd see a call every time down the court.

Regardless of whether he intends to stay or leave, the Raptors should cash in on his inflated value before the rest of the league catches on to what most Toronto fans should already know.

It's the same lesson Portland learned with Randolph, Chicago learned with Curry, and Vancouver learned with Abdur-Rahim. Sometimes 20 and 10 is just insignificant. You give me a Rasheed Wallace with 12 and six, and I'll assure you he contributes more to his team's win/loss record than those three guys combined.

Two-way players win championships. The storied class of 2003 was supposed to be about the big four. Wade and LeBron have been to the NBA finals, with Wade winning a championship. Carmelo Anthony has been leading his team to the playoffs nearly every year in the tough Western Conference.

At the same time, the one year Chris Bosh was part of a team with a winning record was the year the team put the ball in the hands of TJ Ford. It might be tough to accept for most fans, but building around players who can't play defense, and have no intangibles to speak of is a nice way to become a treadmill team.

Guys like Randolph, Bosh, and Gasol are better off as supporting pieces. No one on this team would net the Raptors a franchise wing player except for Bosh.

I certainly hope the Raptors realize what they have in Bosh before he jets in 2010, or worse, before someone else agrees with the statement by Jeff Van Gundy that Anderson Varejao is more deserving of an All-Star spot than Chris Bosh.

Hey Jeff, count me in on that one.