Chris Bosh

BOSH WILL STAY IN TORONTO
LEBRON WILL STAY IN CLEVELAND
WADE WILL STAY IN MIAMI

Obviously he isn’t on par with Lebron or may even Wade, but he is a top-ten player in the NBA right now. He doesn’t drive as much as we may hope, but he is very capable under the basket. He puts up 24/11 with very efficient shooting, which I believe makes him a good candidate underneath for most teams, just not as a full-time center. He’s also 26, meaning that a team signing him for a five-year max contract will get him in his prime years without having to pay the max for into his mid-30s.

However, he’s a rough fit for the Mavs. I think Mavs fans are excited about Bosh because they see him as the only one of the Big Three FAs this year who the Mavs could sign. This has to do more with the seeming unavailability of Lebron and Wade, rather than any indications that Bosh will play for Dallas (he has made it pretty clear that this isn’t a big desire of his). If we somehow did sign him, he and Dirk would have to rotate as quasi-centers, hoping that the defensive downgrade would be made up by offensive performance.

In another world in which Bosh was willing to come to Dallas and willing to be a full-time 5, he would be a great sign. However, it seems very, very, unlikely that the stars will align on this one.

But I unfortunately ran into this after making my long post. It makes my point in a much better way.

http://www.dallasbasketball.com/fullColumn.php?id=3177

I WOULD LOVE TO SEE CHRIS PAUL NOT BOSH IN A MAVS UNIFORM.. KIDD AND DAMP FOR CHRIS PAUL

but to answer some of your points:

I just don’t see the appeal of adding another player that routinely settles for jump shots instead of driving to the hoop.

There’s a big difference between being able to make a jump shot and “settling” for one. Bosh has averaged at least 8 free throw attempts per game each of the last five seasons, and Dwight Howard is the only big in the NBA who gets to the line more frequently, so it should be blatantly obvious that he can and does drive to the basket. A lot.

Also, is he really a top tier talent, alongside the likes of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, worthy of a max contract?

Is he as good as LeBron or Wade? Maybe not…but those are arguably the two best players in the league. He’s definitely an All-Star, and his numbers the last five years stack up pretty well with just about any power forward in the game’s history. He’s efficient, can score inside and outside, has a great post game, rebounds, handles the ball extremely well for a guy his size, gets to the line, and he’ll throw in some blocks and steals for good measure. He’s not perfect, but he’s a top 10 player, so if that translates to an elite, max-contract guy then yes, that’s absolutely what he is.

Not only that, but we already have one of the best 4s in the game (and Bosh is no center).

Bosh was the de-facto center last year for Toronto, but this is a fair point, and one that’s been made often…and probably also the big reason he’s unlikely to come here. There have been reports that he doesn’t want to play center again, and that would likely be what would happen if he was a Mav.

All he does is add talent, but isn’t a fit. In the end, if he isn’t a fit, we’re not champions, you need to have more talent than we do to just add him and expect it to work.

He’s a great player, just not right for this team.