Chris Bosh Laughs Off Idea of Signing With New York Knicks
Not bound for NYC (wikimedia)
You can read the whole tawdry tale here. It seems to me that the big problem with the Knicks’ dreams of scoring a top-notch free agent is the existence of the Miami Heat.
The Collective Bargaining Agreements gives guys like Bosh a pretty strong incentive to resign with the teams that already employ them. But if you’re not going to do that, then if you have responsible people working for you (admittedly an open question) they’re going to point out to you that a contract in Miami will result in substantially more after-tax income than an identical column in New York. And Miami has Dwyane Wade and basically nothing else on the books for the summer of 2010. Combine that with the fact that Pat Riley, loathesome as he is, and Heat management have some kind of track record of success, and you can see that looking like a very appealing options. The Knicks, to put it politely, have no such track record. It’s true that there’s some marketing advantage to being in New York City, but the biggest marketing edge of all is contending for championships and Miami seems like a better place to do that.
27 Responses to “Chris Bosh Laughs Off Idea of Signing With New York Knicks”
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July 23rd, 2009 at 4:04 pm
[T]hey’re going to point out to you that a contract in Miami will result in substantially more after-tax income than an identical column in New York.
Freudian slip from a New York native writing in Washington?
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Oh, and Chris: Your dollars will really go far in Detroit. Heck, you could probably buy up a couple full blocks and build yourself your own town.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Kind of a dick way to respond to a college aged fan pleading with you to come play for his team. Understandable, given all the reasons Matt stated, but still could have used some tact.
Would it have killed Bosh to reach for the time-honored cliche “it’s too soon to say/I’m still weighing all my options/there are a couple of good choices out there” sort of speak?
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:12 pm
The NBA is unwatchable garbage.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Actually watching and listening to the video, I don’t think we can conclusively say Bosh is laughing at the idea of joining the Knicks specifically. There are plenty of ways the reaction could be interpreted. Good-humored laughing at the guy’s stones putting him on the spot like that, appreciation of being wanted, etc.
I think the Post, which has a history of shall we say “dramatic” headlines played this up a bit much.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:20 pm
The point about taxation seems completely gratuitous. I might be wrong, but I’m pretty sure that Toronto is on par with NY for taxes.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Weather?
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:32 pm
I dunno, I think this is mostly Marc Berman digging for a story. He said later that he was just laughing at the idea of the fan lobbying for him to sign with a team, not with the idea that it was the Knicks. That said, if I were him I’d sign with Miami + a resigned Wade as well.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
let’s abolish the income tax so that we can have better sports teams! – yeah – there’s a good public policy starter…
hey – if we get universal health care here in the US, maybe we can finally lure all those awesome basketball players back from playing in the European leagues
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Actually, the tax benefits of playing in Florida or Texas are not as substantial as you would think. NBA Players are taxed based on where the games are played. So, yes, 41 games played in NYC versus 41 games played in Miami do make a difference, but hardly a conclusive one.
Your point about a better franchise is a good one, but of course, the story is that LeBron and Bosh have a basically agreed upon plan to play together. That is why most of the rumors focus on the Knicks. Of course, the new luxury tax levels and flat salary cap numbers may make it impossible for the Knicks to have two max slots available for Bosh and LeBron.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:44 pm
If the Knicks can get Spencer Haywood off the DL, and fix up Bernard King and Willis Reed with some phys rehab, and clean up Michael Ray Richardson’s scene, they could dominate next year.
And they could also bring back Scotty Stirling to cut some more of his trademark great deals.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:51 pm
It’s apparent that taxes play a huge part in where quality talent goes. That’s why notable tax havens like Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago have so many banners hanging in their rafters. Florida has a grand total of 1 championship and Texas has 6. Only the Heat have won a championship due to importing top talent (SA and Houston were lead by their draft picks) and even that came from a trade, rather than free agency.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:52 pm
is the existence of the Miami Heat.
Also, the Knicks’ organization sucks. Why would you want to work for a dysfunctional organization for less money? It’s probably been more than a decade since that team was run right.
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Mike D’Antoni has no track record of success? He came very close to a title, and players love his system.
Donnie Walsh has done a fine job in New York as GM. The biggest-market-team in the NBA has only $21 million in salary committed after next year. They’ve dumped Strabury and Richardson. Curry’s all that’s left of the really appalling squad from a few years back. Meanwhile they have a really nice young player in Wilson Chandler, along with a decent young guy in Gallinari as well as David Lee if the he re-signs.
This is not all about money; Bosh doesn’t want to go to New York because he probably knows he’s not a big enough star for the Knicks. He knows he’s a guy more comfortable as second fiddle.
Now *Boozer* has the kind of pure pecuniary motives that would make him the ideal target for the “no income tax” free agent pitch. He moved his family to Florida for the tax rate. I think *that’s* the big who lands in Miami in the end.
July 23rd, 2009 at 6:17 pm
“Bosh doesn’t want to go to New York because he probably knows he’s not a big enough star for the Knicks.”
“A big enough star for the Knicks”? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Mike
July 23rd, 2009 at 6:34 pm
It’s true that there’s some marketing advantage to being in New York City,
True. But I think the weather has more to do with it than people think. The Yankees have no trouble signing big names. OK, sure, they’re the Yankees, and there’s no salary cap and all, but still, guys don’t mind spending the summer in NYC. But a lot of dudes do mind spending the winter there.
July 23rd, 2009 at 6:37 pm
4. The NBA is unwatchable garbage.
Uhh…then don’t post in the NBA thread, homie. And, I might add, the NBA, garbage though it may be, is eminently, I repeat, eminently, watchable.
July 23rd, 2009 at 6:37 pm
they’re going to point out to you that a contract in Miami will result in substantially more after-tax income than an identical column in New York.
Tax cutting is good for attracting NBA stars.
In other words – Help Us Get Chris Bosh: Vote Republican.
July 23rd, 2009 at 7:02 pm
And Miami has Dwyane Wade and basically nothing else on the books for the summer of 2010.
Dwyane Wade is a free agent in the summer of 2010 and it is far from a foregone conclusion that he will resign with Miami.
July 23rd, 2009 at 7:08 pm
I love MY’s shot at Pat Riley–isn’t the only time the Knicks have been good in a million years is when he was the coach? Oh, and when his man JVG took over.
More to the point, the Knicks are such an awful franchise, they would need the tax advantage to be more attractive.
July 23rd, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Mike D’Antoni has no track record of success?
Not in NYC so far. I actually think D’Antoni was sort of a genius hire, because I suspect his system maximizes the sort of talent that you can find in copious supply in the NBA pool. But he’s been there, what, a year? And the Knicks are still owned by the Dolans.
My gawd, the Knicks problems go back to keeping Ewing lo those many years ago. This is a problem they’ve had for much longer than the Isiah Thomas reign. Really, I think the team gets cowed by its fans, or at least its perception of its fans.
The biggest-market-team in the NBA has only $21 million in salary committed after next year.
All that means is that they don’t have anyone worth paying. Yes, that’s better than previous circumstances, when they were paying people who weren’t worth the checks, but it’s not good. Their best shot at a star is Bosh. Which means they’re aiming to become, what, the Raptors? And who’s left if they miss on that? Boozer’s a great player, but he gets injured all of the time. I see a replay of Chicago’s big summer of free agency coming.
But we’ll see.
Dwyane Wade is a free agent in the summer of 2010 and it is far from a foregone conclusion that he will resign with Miami.
He’s not leaving $30 mil., great weather, and that nightlife on the table. I guess it’s possible he’d leave, but I can’t think of the circs that would result in it.
July 23rd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
““A big enough star for the Knicks”? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“More to the point, the Knicks are such an awful franchise, they would need the tax advantage to be more attractive.”
Shows what you all know about the Knicks. Players want to play there. Coaches want to coach there. Their recent futility on the basketball court is legendary among fans, and the spotlight is very harsh. But being a pro-basketball star in NYC is like being a god. There is nothing remotely like it at all in most NBA cities–even most places where the team is really popular like Houston or Salt Lake City.
You have to have narcissistic personality disorder or be a first-class star to want to be the top dog on a Knicks team. We know what Stephon Marbury was. Chris Bosh is neither.
I’m not a Knicks fan, either.
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Good example of dysfunctional social dumping on the most horrible scale – within a country where everyone can move free as it pleases him.
July 24th, 2009 at 12:27 am
What else is new for fans of the Jets/Mets/Knicks trifecta of perpetual losers? I wonder sometimes if I’m such a masochist…
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