LJ4ptplay
Starter
? The real question about the free-agent period that begins July 1 is this: If LeBron James stays in Cleveland and Dwyane Wade stays in Miami, what do all these teams do with their cap space? Teams like the Knicks, Nets, Bulls and others will have to decide if they?re going to overpay for a second-tier free agent, use the money to sign several second-tier players, or hold some back for the 2011 free-agent class, which could include Carmelo Anthony. Sources say that the Knicks? likely fallback option if they don?t get LeBron is Atlanta?s Joe Johnson ? but that strategy comes with a caveat. On one hand, Donnie Walsh is too smart to overpay for a player like Johnson who probably isn?t quite deserving of the max. Then again, the Hawks will pay Johnson the max to stay, so if anybody else wants him, the max is what it will take. Johnson said recently that he?d sacrifice to pair up with another elite player, meaning he?d take less than the max. But there?s no reason for him to take less under any other circumstance.
? For similar reasons, Walsh will have to decide whether Chris Bosh is worthy of a max deal if he strikes out on LeBron. Sources familiar with Walsh?s thinking are convinced that he does not regard Bosh as being on the same level as James and Wade, who will be the only two clear-cut max players on the market. ?That?s the fallacy with the max,? one prominent agent said. ?It allows you to buy Chris Bosh for the same price as LeBron James.? In fact, another person familiar with Walsh?s strategy said if it came down to deciding whether to keep David Lee or sign Bosh to a max deal, Walsh would choose Lee. ?There are questions about whether Bosh is the kind of player who can carry a team by himself,? the person said. ?He certainly hasn?t done it in Toronto.?
http://ken-berger.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/11838893/20627942?source=rss_blogs_NBA
I agree. Bosh is not worth the max. Although, I don't think Lee is worth $11+ mil either.
If Lee accepts $10 mil, that leaves another $6+ mil to get another good player (Tyrus Thomas?, Anthony Morrow?). Which seems better to me than paying Bosh $16+ mil.