Dallas Mavericks May Make a Run at Chris Bosh

At 14-10 the Mavs are flirting with mediocrity.  They are good enough to beat the lowly teams, however they cannot defeat the top teams such as the Lakers and the Nuggets. 

Dirk Nowitzki is playing as good as he ever has.  Jason Terry is far and away the leading candidate for the sixth man of the year award.  The problem is, the Mavs still are not legitimate contenders out west. 

With the 2010 free agency competition coming faster and faster, teams are trying to position themselves for making a big splash.  Teams are trying to find a way to either keep their superstars, or find a trade that would allow them to rebuild. 

The Toronto Raptors are a perfect example of this situation.  Chris Bosh will be a free agent after next season with the majority of the other superstars in the NBA.  The Raptors have two options in this situation.  They can either try to build a solid team around Bosh to convince him to stay, or they can trade him now while he still has value and start to rebuild, while also freeing up cap space. 

The Mavericks have been looking to shop Josh Howard since this past off-season.  The Raptors have failed to be competitive, even though they added Jermaine O’Neal during the off-season. It is very possible that before the trading deadline in February, you could see a huge blockbuster deal go down between these two teams. 

The Mavs would trade Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Gerald Green, Jerry Stackhouse, and cash to the Raptors for forward Chris Bosh.  This would free up some cap space for the Raptors, especially since Jerry Stackhouse will become a free agent after this season.  The Mavericks would finally get a legitimate big man to put aside Dirk, and make a serious run at the title. 

The biggest question is whether or not the Raptors feel like they have any shot at keeping Bosh once his contract is up.  Only time will tell, but signs are starting to point to a blockbuster deal between the Mavericks and someone before the trading deadline gets here.