What if Bosh had gone to Cleveland? Is Jimmy Butler a Raptor?
It's been almost a decade since LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade made their decision in July 2010 to team up in Miami. The so-called "Decision" was a turning point in NBA history, bringing in a new era of player empowerment.
While the Toronto Raptors only played a peripheral part in the madness of that offseason, the ripple effects of the decision had far-reaching consequences for the organization.
Ultimately, the decision reportedly came down to Miami and Chicago for Bosh and Wade, with James giving a little more consideration to Cleveland. Eventually, on July 8, Bosh and Wade announced their intentions to play together in Miami. Two days later, Toronto worked out a deal with Miami, exchanging Bosh for a pair of first-round picks.
But what if things had gone differently for Toronto?
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Cavaliers briefly tried to bring Bosh to Cleveland in an attempt to convince James to stay.
"They had called the Raptors and said 'hey, if Bosh wants to come here can we do a deal?'" Windhorst told Zach Lowe on the Lowe Post. "Bryan Colangelo and the Raptors long wanted Anderson Varejao, there would have had to be other pieces in the deal, maybe (J.J.) Hickson would have been in the deal, Delonte West had a non-guaranteed contract, so he could have been involved in it and they could have cut him, but they could have gotten there with Varejao and potentially a draft pick asset as a deal. So they knew they could get Bosh, but they literally could not get Henry Thomas, Bosh's agent, to return their calls."
What if Bosh had agreed to join James in Cleveland, forcing the two clubs to work out a sign-and-trade?
Based on Windhorst's reporting, it sounds like the Raptors would have at least acquired Varejao and a 2011 first-round pick. Cleveland eventually used its 2011 first-round pick to select Tristan Thompson fourth overall, but in this alternate reality in which the Cavaliers have Bosh and James, Cleveland would have been good, likely picking toward the end of the 2011 draft.
With a new frontcourt of Andrea Bargnani-Anderson Varejao, the Raptors likely would have steered clear of Jonas Valanciunas with the fifth overall pick, potentially going with one of the guards taken early, either Brandon Knight or Kemba Walker. Later in the draft, selecting in Cleveland's spot, Colangelo may have doubled down on his backcourt, taking another guard or wing at the end of the first.
Here's a look at who went in that range in 2011:
It's hard to believe the Raptors would have selected Jimmy Butler, considering their seeming disinterest in defense-first players, but it's not impossible.
Ultimately, things went in a very different direction. Though the Raptors certainly didn't come out of the 2010 offseason as winners, it's hard to complain with how things played out with the 2019 NBA championship in the rearview mirror.
Correction: July 1, 2020
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the Raptors would not have had their 2011 first-round pick. The pick was lottery protected and Toronto still would have made that selection.
