Weighing up a potential Boozer-Bargnani deal

The strongest element of Toronto trading for the services of Rudy Gay last week was that the move gave the Raptors the skeleton of an extremely effective starting five.

Missing however was an NBA hardened, scoring orientated power forward who for at least the next couple of years would take on the brunt of Toronto’s front-court production while Jonas Valanciunas furthered developed his game.

The Raptors haven’t concealed their desire to land a high calibre forward ever since Chris Bosh decided to take his talents to South Beach. Since then Toronto have kept their dreamy eyes mostly on Pau Gasol however they’ve maintained room in their heart for other forwards comparable to Gasol’s status in the league.

In Chicago’s Carlos Boozer, the Raptors might have found their man.

A trade between the Bulls and Toronto which would potential send former number one pick Andrea Bargnani to Chicago has been rumoured with a few other undisclosed pieces thrown in to round out the deal.

Chicago’s participation in the trade is motivated on the one hand to solve some of their offensive concerns which are being highlighted by an inability to hit threes. Only Memphis has scored and attempted fewer long range shots than the Bulls, while Bargnani has already hit 571 over his first seven seasons as an NBA pro.

A further motivation for the Bulls would be getting themselves out of Boozer’s deal which still has two and half years and nearly $40 million left on it. Bargnani's deal has the same time frame still remaining, though he’s owed around $5 million per season less than Boozer.

Despite each being highly criticised players, Toronto and the Bulls for instance are statistically much better teams with these guys off the court as opposed to on it, both Bargnani and Boozer in the right settings and situations, have the potential to help their teams significantly.

This trade would make a lot of sense as Bargnani's defensive short comings could be limited playing in Tom Thibodeau’s famed defensive system, while Boozer would be first and foremost required to score for the Raptors rather than provide the type lock down defense he's never been comfortable with.

Criticism of this deal from a Toronto perspective revolves around money. For a team some 15 games below.500 to be flirting with paying the luxury tax is a big risk. For Chicago, dealing Boozer would also mean dealing the club’s second most proficient scorer, in addition to a strong element of what’s been a very successfully side over the past few years.   

Ultimately the Raptors are desperate to put together a strong squad with money not appearing to be too much of a roadblock. The Bulls meanwhile have arguable been caught, perhaps surpassed, by divisional rival Indiana while they might also feel that now is the perfect time to capitalise on what’s still valuable in Boozer’s game.