Chris Bosh: Raptors Offseason Moves Enhance Prospects of Retaining the FA

A scant few months ago, the Raptor organization and fan base stared into a cloudy future, questioning the feasibility of resigning the team's centrepiece, Chris Bosh, in 2010.

Bystanders south of the border only spoke of Toronto in the context of who was going to reap the benefits of poaching the team's lone All-Star, and how management would deal with this reality when they finally accepted this inevitable fate.

Bewildered fans and local media discussed the merits of undergoing a complete rebuilding of the current roster, with some going as far as to proclaim that Andrea Bargnani was the player the franchise should build around.

It was a period rife with pessimism and a precursor to full-out panic.

However, since the draft the Raptors have built a steam of positive momentum, culminating in a series of roster maneuvers by GM Bryan Colangelo that simultaneously enhanced the roster while defying the restrictive measures of the salary cap.

The player turnover can only be described as dramatic; beefing up the starting line-up and firming up the bench while cutting loose less functional pieces (AKA the future Cav pick-ups).

Much of Colangelo's post draft-day work has directly addressed the issue of improving a recently floundering team. But he has also been playing to the subtleties involved in positioning to resign a potential max contract player.    

As a testament to the last couple of weeks, here are three recent Raptor transactions that have greatly helped in the quest to keep Bosh in Toronto.

1. Hedo sign-and-trade

A literal steal of the prized free agent was greeted with mixed reviews, where there was hope of a sexier addition to upgrade the much-maligned swing-man "hole" in the roster.

At last season's start, the plan appeared to be to ride Calderon till he dropped and hope that a dominant high-low tandem of Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal would help offset the less than dynamic perimeter play.

Theoretically this may have worked, right until Jose showed up lame after the Olympics, exposing the lack of a guard/swingman that could make plays for themselves and, ideally, others.

With the simultaneous unraveling of the JO experiment, the team imploded with no presence capable of attacking a defense to lessen the overwhelming focus on Bosh (teams were ready to take their chances with Bargnani, which is part of the reason he was able to put up some numbers in the second half of the season).

The margin of error for the Raptors grew excruciatingly small: the team was not capable of playing good enough defense to compensate for their increasingly stagnant offense.

In signing Turkoglu, Colangelo addressed the roster's most pressing need: a player who can create and open up the offensive end for his teammates.

He may not be the hard-charging athlete many had hoped for, but his ability to play point-forward has been documented in addition to his willingness to take clutch shots.

Given his consistency and recent NBA Finals experience, it's hard not to see how his ability to facilitate as well as finish will improve those around him.

His skill set should be an excellent complement to the current starters in place. There is a reason Portland went after Hedo with such enthusiasm, despite the presence of Brandon Roy and the plethora of swingman that over run their roster. 

Not only was Hedo signed at a deal acceptable to Colangelo's salary structure but because of how he was acquired as per the fine print of the League's Collective Bargaining agreement minutiae, the Raptors were able to retain their free-agents (i.e. the right to resign Carlos Delfino) and reacquire the Mid Level Exception and a bi-annual trade exception, totaling almost $8 million to use on additional signings. 

This is the move that truly set the plan in motion.

2. Signing Bargnani to an extension

This is an aside to the changing economic landscape of the NBA. 

The shrinking salary cap number has taken much of the luster out of the projected free agent bonanza of 2010, as it will be virtually impossible for any team to sign two max level players that summer (throwing a wrench into even the most ardent schemer's LeBron-Bosh or Wade-Bosh rumours).

With Bargnani averaging around 19 pts/5 rbs (sigh...)/1.25 blks for the second half of last season, there was always the risk of a team throwing big money his way as a free agent if he continues his development.

By using "Darko"-type money to sign Bargs, Colangelo guaranteed he would not be put into a position of compromising the ability to offer Bosh his big contract, by unnecessarily spending on an important complementary player. And that's word to Rashard Lewis...

3. Jarrett Jack offer sheet

While not the prototypical playmaker, Jack is an athletic point guard with good size that can swing to shooting guard in a moment's notice.

He has spent time both as a starter and coming off the bench, excelling at creating his own shot and defending the ball while possessing an intensely competitive nature.

Basically, the sort of player that the Raps were in dire need of last year.

It has been reported that Toronto is ready to tender an offer to Jack who is a restricted free agent with the Pacers.

In light of their recent signing of Dahntay Jones, Indiana would not look to resign Jack to a contract that exceeded $4 million annually; a price Colangelo would certainly deem acceptable considering the need to shore up depth at point guard and improve team athleticism. 

However, there is one more advantage to this signing: Jack and Bosh are old friends from their Georgia Tech days. For all the on court advantages, bringing in one of Bosh's friends could only help further in retaining his services for the future.

In professional sports, where respect is ultimately measured in wins, and wins alone, it is difficult for any team to bounce back from a sub-par season.

To slip as far as the Raptors did last season virtually guarantees skeptics will have no shortage of dismissive things to say.

Outsiders will mock and under-rate the accumulation of talent, as if nothing will change the previous season's meager 33 win total.

Stat geeks will use their analysis of choice that confirmed last season's failures as a context for any future projections.

Even the informed followers of the team, stung from recent disappointment, could harp on key failings in such areas as rebounding and defense or even question the overall coaching and leadership of the team.

To deny Toronto's roster moves in the free agency period thus far is to be blind to a bigger picture that exists past one failed season.

Colangelo has put the franchise in a fiscal position to resign Bosh, as well as change a roster dynamic that could lead to a full reversal of the team's recent fortunes.

In a summer that has seen two of the top three contenders in the East either unable to sign an impact player that addresses significant need or lose the sort of depth that made them a contender in the first place, the Raptors have succeeded where other teams have failed.

While it is still very early, there is reason to believe that optimism in a stable and winning future is warranted. Perception will be a key component in retaining Bosh's services. Now if Colangelo can keep from declaring this version of the Raptors as the franchise's best ever, there maybe hope for basketball in Toronto yet.