Staff Writer: Ryan Ward
There is a lot of speculation on where the big name free agents in the NBA will eventually land after July 1st this summer, but even though many people believe it is a simple decision to make to either stay with their current team or go for the big money somewhere else, it really just isn’t that simple.
Obviously there are a lot of things that come into play when professional athlete decides to join a new team like location, weather, market and of course the almighty dollar, but like I said, not an easy choice by any means.
Some players are simple though, they don’t mind bad weather or playing in a small market if it is their home town, but if it isn’t, there is definitely a good chance that when the player becomes available to the highest bidder he will decide to go elsewhere more appealing or livable.
The big fish in the NBA free-agent market this summer will without a doubt be LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. No matter how you shake it, LeBron is a huge game changer for any team he could play for as he could quickly change the franchise from a perennial loser to a possible title contender in just one season.
Many people believe that LeBron James will jump ship and head to New York if he can’t win a title with the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. The two-time MVP has already said that he is a huge New York fan that loves the Yankees and there is no bigger market to make his millions and become a global icon.
Cleveland is his hometown, has been and always will be, but New York might be just be too much to pass up on as they will have the money, the market and a hell of a lot better nightlife.
Even though the debate will rage on about LeBron and his big decision, there plenty of other players in the NBA free-agent market that will also get plenty of attention this summer. One of those players is versatile All-Star forward Chris Bosh from the Toronto Raptors.
During his time with the Toronto Raptors, Bosh has turned into a superstar and arguably one of the best players at his position, but every single season the Raptors struggle to get into the playoffs and are never really considered that much of a threat in the Eastern Conference.
With that being said, there is no doubt that Chris Bosh be getting a lot of attention from other teams looking to upgrade their frontcourt like the New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers just to name a few. All three of these teams will look to seriously upgrade their rosters this summer and try to become a title contender much the way the Boston Celtics did back in 2008 by adding Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett into the mix.
Like I said before, this is no easy decision as he will get many different offers from many different places, but Bosh has put an original spin on making his decision by asking his devoted Twitter followers to help them make the decision on where he should play next season.
One big hint to Bosh’s future came recently when he was seen at a Los Angeles Lakers playoff game and actually went into the locker room afterwards to talk to the players. This might mean nothing as he might be good friends with Kobe Bryant, who played with during the Summer Olympics, but it also might have huge implications as he might be looking to take less money to come play with the defending champs or could be possibly talking to Los Angeles Clippers.
Whatever the case may be, Bosh is definitely open to negotiation with other teams in my opinion will not be going back to the Toronto Raptors next season.
