Always bet on...?

A lot of winners in today’s prediction trade, but everything is dependent on one thing.  Will the Toronto Raptors go black to keep Chris Bosh?  If they do, this is how they could create a cascading effect of cap relief throughout the league.  Observe.

The Teams:  Toronto Raptors, Portland Trail Blazers, Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies

Toronto:  If signing Bosh means going black, then the Raptors have to deport many of their foreign players.  Long contracts like the recently signed Hedo Turkoglu (5yrs/50+million) and the veteran Jose Calderon (4yrs/36+million) are priority moves.  A player like Andrea Bargnani though is not one of the deportees, at least not if the Raptors can help it. Neither are the likes of DeMar Derozan and Jarret Jack, who play well with the one being woo’d, Chris Bosh.

Portland:  The entire NBA can hear that it’s not working out in Portland with Andre Miller.  If only Hedo Turkoglu hand’t bolted.

Philidelphia:  The 76ers are wishing for the days when they were a scrappy low seed playoff team.  Elton Brand’s tenure has been a disaster, and Philly would be lucky to have anyone even contemplate taking on his contract.  Important to note that the scrappy Philly team that was last in the playoffs was lead by Andre Miller.

Memphis:  Now here is a team where things are working out a little better than expected.  Zach Randolf is getting his great numbers and contributing to wins.  Marc Gasol is quickly becoming a top young talent at center.  O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay both have good and great nights (though for how long L.A. Mayo and Rudy Gay stick around is questionable).  The softest spot of weakness, if Memphis is being honest with themselves, is at the point with Mike Conley.  He’s young, but this team could be in a low seed playoff hunt with a better PG, and that sells more tickets than Allen Iverson on a losing team can.

Toronto:  Takes on Brand’s horrific contract in the going black experiment.  Gets rid of both Calderon AND Turkoglu without having to sacrifice Bargnani or Derozan though, and that’’s very good.  If supporting Bosh’s guys like Jarret Jack and dumping the euro trip gets Bosh to resign, its a good move for Toronto.  They can always try to sacrifice Bargnani’s contract shopping Elton Brand later on if need be.

Portland:  Gets the player wanted and get rid of the player unwanted.

Philadelphia:  Taking a step back is a step forward in this case, and going back to the days of no Elton Brand and Andre Miller at Point Guard don’t seem so bad.  Let’s face it, anything short of taking on Gilbert Arenas’ contract for Elton Brand is a good move.

Memphis:  Shores up The Point Guard spot with a very solid pass-first veteran who happens to be a fellow countryman to Marc Gasol, the impressive second year center.  The Grizzlies give up very little to get Calderon and Mike Conley is still on the roster to develop or trade at a later date.

Behold, a Future