There was much discussion about whether Chris Bosh would stay in Toronto to continue playing for the struggling Raptors. Although he still claims to plan on staying in Ontario, it does not look like the audience will see him much longer wearing a Raptors jersey. Averaging 22.7 points and 10 boards per game last season he proved to be one of the few dominant big men in the NBA.

More specifically, Bosh refuses to sign an early contract extension this summer and will instead wait to become a free agent next year. Without any doubts, this move makes life difficult for the Toronto Raptors management who will have to face a few tough decisions regarding Bosh. Obviously one option would be to keep Bosh next year and hope that he will sign another contract in Toronto. However, it appears to be a reasonable assumption that CB4 would decide to play for a better team in a bigger market to maximize his success on and off the court.

Therefore, Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo will have to consider trading Chris Bosh before the trade deadline in March 2010 to avoid losing his franchise cornerstone without getting anything in return. Unfortunately, it rarely happens in the NBA that a franchise players as good as CB4 results in a trade that brings in equal value, there are simply not enough players a good as Chris Bosh available for trades. Likewise, only teams who think they can keep Bosh in town when he becomes a free agent would seriously consider a trade which further limits potential trading partners for the Raptors. Taking everything into consideration, it looks like Bryan Colangelo will either have to spin the fortune wheel hoping that Bosh will re-sign in 2010 or trade him for a less skilled All-Star before the deadline. Either way, everything points to a lose-lose situation for the struggling Raptors franchise.

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