AGRI Biz

ESPN has dredged up the obvious and long-standing rumor that the New Orleans Hornets would like to get out from under the contracts of Emeka Okafor, James Posey, and/or Peja Stojalovic. And as New Orleans is a small market team that will be in the luxury tax again next season, it probably wasn’t all that hard to find an NBA executive that would agree that this ...

Many fans and GMs are willing to sacrifice it all for a slim chance to be an NBA Finals team.  But the reality is, unless you are willing to spend will over $10 million in luxury tax dollars, it is not going to happen under this CBA.  And there is a good chance it won’t happen under the next CBA either. Even if your team’s owners are willing ...

As the excitement of the NBA Draft approaches, it is time to look closely at what really matters—and remember that the NBA Playoffs are not a place where young teams do well. A young group of star athletes may look good in Round One, but it is the veteran teams that most often survive Round Two and thrive in the conference finals. No team in this year’s conference finals ...

In the summer of big free agent possibilities, it is often forgotten that not just teams with salary cap space can be contenders for the best free agents available. Free agents in the midst of their NBA careers who can command maximum contracts have little reason to join another team’s decimated roster and hope management can build a contender around them. Sorry, New Jersey and New York, but one of the big ...

Bosh's self-created Twittergate has made quite the stir amongst Raptors fans.  Inferring that he doesn't know what to do and asking his 100,000 twitter followers to give 140 character answers to the Raptors biggest off-season question ever has created more buzz than just about anything else the five time All-Star could have done in the pre-Free Agency period. And from the articles, posts, and media commentary, it should be clear that Toronto ...

What if the unthinkable happens this summer, and Chris Bosh walks away from the Toronto Raptors for nothing? No sign and trade deal, no talent coming back, not even a trade exception to work with. It could happen. As unlikely as it is that Bosh walks away from over $30 million in guaranteed money, he would have to be stark-raving mad to do it. There is ...

In a statement that should rankle all Toronto Raptors players and fans alike, LeBron James admitted it was Chicago they wanted to face in the first round. The mystery of why Cleveland was playing their starters in a meaningless game against Toronto after they had secured first place overall, and then sat King James while hoisting numerous uncalled-for threes against Chicago in the next game seems ...

It seems like no one in the Raptors organization really wants Chris Bosh to depart for greener pastures this summer and it also seems like Chris Bosh loves Toronto, the fans, and the Raptors organization. But it also seems inevitable that Bosh will be gone by the time next season starts and that Chris Bosh and Bryan Colangelo have a tacit agreement to get the Raptors’ All-Star to a team he ...

In Bryan Colangelo’s end-of-season address to the media (and indirectly to the fans) he said something most of us were not used to hearing.  The Toronto Raptors had two scenarios for next season in which they would spend $3 million and $7 million over the luxury tax cap. Now, for a team that has played with staying just under the luxury tax line ever since escaping those ...

Anyone who watched Chris Bosh in his end-of-season interview at the Air Canada Centre media center had to come away somewhat discouraged by what they heard (Raptors Video Player, April 14, 2010.  Chris Bosh presser in three segments). Chris Bosh did not say he is leaving the Raptors. What Chris Bosh did say is it is going to take a lot of significant changes for him to consider staying. Bosh ...