Large audience awaits Bosh's next act

LOS ANGELES – The Toronto Raptors logo emblazoned on the long-sleeved pullover was a giveaway. So were the familiar dreadlocks, as well as the shadow of the man with the familiar dreadlocks. Caught in the midday sun, it stretched nearly 7 feet, slicing through the students scrambling between classes on UCLA’s campus.

“You’re … Chris Bosh!” shouted one notebook-toting undergrad. He alerted his peers of the giant among them, and, soon, Bosh was flanked by six more students. One asked him to sign a dollar bill. Another, upon realizing he was cashless, offered his wallet. A pair of coeds who had tracked each of Bosh’s steps wanted a picture.

After losing to the Los Angeles Lakers the previous night, the Raptors had come for a quick practice. Bosh, in need of a lift, set out for the weight room across campus with the team’s strength coach in tow. His trip ended with an impromptu autograph session.

Bosh laughed. This wouldn’t have happened a year ago. Only in Toronto could he not walk the streets in relative anonymity. Even when he returned to his native Dallas in the summers, few people recognized him.

“I used to be able to go home and chill,” he said. “Not anymore.”

Bosh better get used to the attention. His standout performance in the season’s first month, coupled with his expected availability on the 2010 free-agent market, is fast making him Mr. Popular far beyond Canada. The New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and, yes, even Bosh’s hometown Dallas Mavericks, figure to be among the dozen-plus teams interested in bidding against the Raptors for his services at the end of next season.

While LeBron James is the unquestioned leader of the 2010 class, at least a few league executives have begun to wonder whether Bosh has the potential to surpass Dwyane Wade as the second-most sought-after free agent. “Wade’s durability will ultimately decide that,” said one Eastern Conference player personnel director. “But no one is going to be disappointed to get Chris.”

Especially if some team can lure Bosh in a package with either James or Wade, with whom he shares an agent. Already, there is speculation among some general managers, who also happen to represent the vast majority of NBA conspiracy theorists, that the Knicks have locked up both James and Bosh. “It’s a total setup,” said one.

Bosh smiles at such talk. He played with James and Wade during Team USA’s march to the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, and admits the subject of someday teaming together was an occasional topic of conversation. But never more so than when James used the roster’s star-filled alliance as a rallying cry. James told his Olympic teammates that he had always wanted to play with a center like Dwight Howard, with a point guard like Chris Paul. Now that all of them were surrounded with so much talent there would be no excuses if they didn’t win gold.

“Him just saying that kind of let us know that playing together would kind of be surreal,” Bosh said. “You can’t help but look at it. But I’m the type of person where I don’t get too far ahead of myself. If I get too far ahead of myself and start worrying about the future, I won’t do what’s best right now.

“I’m just living right now, just trying to make the best out of my situation.”

The Raptors know they have some work to do if they hope to convince Bosh to stay after next season. For all of the attention Bosh will draw from outside suitors, Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo has said his focus is building an attractive, winning environment around his star forward. Whether he accomplishes that remains to be seen. After trading for Jermaine O’Neal in the summer to give them another interior presence, the Raptors had hoped to challenge for one of the Eastern Conference’s top three playoff spots. They’ve instead been one of the season’s biggest disappointments, stumbling to an 8-12 start. On Wednesday, Colangelo fired Sam Mitchell as coach and named Jay Triano, the franchise’s longtime Canadian assistant, as his replacement. The Raptors have lost all three of their games since, including Tuesday's 114-94 defeat in Cleveland.

Rival team executives say Colangelo also has been active in trade discussions. The Raptors need help on the wing, and Colangelo has dangled forward Jason Kapono in some talks, which comes as little surprise given the regrettable four-year, $24 million contract the team gave him. “They’re likely feeling a lot of pressure to get things turned around,” said one Western Conference GM, “and Bryan isn’t one to be afraid to pull the trigger.”

Bosh hasn’t abandoned hope of the Raptors making a deep playoff run. “We have a lot of work to do, but is it possible? It’s very possible,” he said two days before Mitchell was fired. But there’s also a reason why he took only a three-year extension from the Raptors in July 2006: He wanted flexibility to leave if the franchise isn’t headed in the right direction.

“If you look at the guys who have been in one place, they were the greatest of all time,” Bosh said. “Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, David Robinson. The top-50 players of all time. Would I like to do it? Yes, but you never know how things go. That was a very special situation they were in.”

Given his play in the season’s first month, Bosh looked eager to take his place among his current generation’s greats. Through the first 15 games, he averaged 27.8 points and 10.5 rebounds, a spike in production he credits to the confidence he gained during the Olympics. Recognizing Team USA wouldn’t lack for scoring, Bosh focused on defending and rebounding.

“Just being that kind of hustle guy,” he said. “That was my calling. I just accepted it and embraced it.”

“You look at everybody that was on that team, from LeBron to D-Wade to Kobe [Bryant], and especially Chris Bosh and myself, I think everybody’s game has elevated,” Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said. “Chris, knowing what he can do out there, without even getting the basketball, and still being as effective, I think has helped him out a lot.”

After Bosh put together scoring games of 40, 42 and 39 points earlier this season, even some of his friends and family members asked what had happened to him. He told them he wanted to win the MVP award.

“I wasn’t afraid to let it out because I wanted people to know,” Bosh said. “I realize my importance to the team, my leadership role to the team. I said that to myself so I can have a standard to how I play every night. Even if I don’t get it, I want to play like an MVP every night.”

To do that, Bosh knows he also must win. So far, he has yet to lead the Raptors out of the first round of the playoffs. The tag doesn’t stick to him the way it has with Anthony or Tracy McGrady, given that Bosh hasn’t always had comparable talent. But it’s still there.

“Before he was a guy that got a max deal that wasn't a max-impact winner,” said one West scout. “He’s moved up, but he still hasn't turned them into consistent winners like LeBron or Tim Duncan. In that sense, he’s more like Emeka Okafor.”

Bosh’s drop in production has coincided with the Raptors' five-game losing streak, which began when the Lakers limited him to 12 points with frequent double-teaming. On Tuesday, the Cavaliers limited him to nine points in 32 minutes. Bosh will continue to receive similar treatment in the future, and he knows that how he learns to handle the attention will ultimately decide whether he’s ready to become a dominant player.

If Bosh becomes more consistent, he probably won’t have to stump for All-Star votes the way he did last season, when, unbeknownst to the Raptors, he cast himself as a Texas used-car salesman in a memorable YouTube skit. Bosh also unveiled Blane Harrington, a distinguished gentleman, as another of his alter-ego creations later in the season.

“It was a good chance to have some fun because people don’t expect it from me,” Bosh said. “I’m able to be really creative, come out of left field and keep everyone guessing about what I want to do next.”

For the Raptors, that could very well make for a nervous 19 months.