by MICHAEL GRANGE , The Globe and Mail

The two men define the franchise heading into its 15th season, their own long-term prospects bound together. And how things play out will likely shape the club for years to come.

Are the Raptors bound for the NBA's upper class, ready to flex their uber-rich ownership's considerable financial muscle to add talent in search of playoff success with Bosh as the focal point on the floor and Colangelo the architect?

Or is yet more retooling ahead, with ownership's eye on the bottom line as much as any on-court prize in the increasingly have and have-not NBA, the long-term presence of Bosh and Colangelo very much in doubt?

Bosh, the four-time all-star, is heading into what could be the final year of his contract, a 25-year-old talent chasing not only a $130-million (U.S.) payday, but respect: Teams don't give out those deals to players who don't win playoff games any more. Not in these economic times.

"I'm at a point where I want to elevate my game and get better and all that stuff," the 6-foot-10 forward said on the eve of his seventh NBA season, the prime of his career at hand. "My numbers have plateaued and the wins have gone down, so it's either do or don't."

Watching with interest will be Colangelo, the boy wonder executive now hitting mid-career, himself entering the final year of his contract as Raptors president and general manager - though club owner Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has an option for one more.

It's a stretch to suggest MLSE wouldn't exercise it, and Colangelo, 44, it's believed, wants to stay. But it's hard to be the rising young executive when your team slides from 47 wins to 41 to 33 and counting. Still, he'll be the person telling MLSE if Bosh is worth the money - and what to do with the franchise's most valuable asset if it's determined he's not.

Right now, he's not sure. The situation, as Colangelo likes to say, is fluid.

The NBA's economic picture is changing. Projections are that BRI - Basketball-related income - may fall by as much as 5 per cent league-wide, the luxury tax threshold and salary cap with it. Toss in the possibility of a labour stoppage in 2011, with ownership determined to drive salaries down and giving a player not named LeBron James or Kobe Bryant or Dwight Howard or Dwyane Wade - peers of Bosh's with a track records of NBA playoff success - may hamstring a franchise for years to come.

Basketball 2

"We have to be very careful - as every team does - with regard to the commitments being made, including a commitment to Chris," Colangelo said.

"[The economic outlook] has to be something you factor in. Is it prudent for this organization to go forward and give him a $130-million contract?"

Bosh is on a mission to prove his case. He committed himself to a newly rigorous off-season routine, inspired by the sand-kicking physiques of the NBA's title-winning elite he rubbed shoulders with on Team USA last summer at the Beijing Olympics.

He showed there that he belongs among the best. But he was a role player in China. With three playoff wins on his r?sum? as a headliner with the Raptors , he needs to prove he can be part of an NBA team that matters.

"Unless you're playing on TNT and ESPN and all that in May, [regular-season success] doesn't mean much," Bosh said. "You think about all the games you watched when you were little; you don't remember [Michael] Jordan having 30 in February. It's all about the playoffs."

Bosh is optimistic he can lift a team. Colangelo went to extraordinarily lengths over the summer to provide him some help, bringing in nine new players, including Hedo Turkoglu as his designated No. 2.

Asked if he can imagine playing at his best and not lifting the Raptors' fortunes, of the team limping along below .500, Bosh says he can't.

"I don't see it like that," he said. "That means I'm doing something wrong, that means all those numbers don't mean much."

But both men are surely wise enough to know that in the NBA these days you have to pay for championship talent. This season more than any other in recent memory the league is divided into legitimate contenders, optimists and a lower class simply trying to save their shirts.

Count the Raptors as optimists, their $67-million payroll a hefty commitment, but short of the price paid to get into the best neighbourhoods. The MLSE board will get a first-hand glimpse of what a legitimate NBA contender looks like tonight at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Coming off a 66-win season, the Cleveland Cavaliers added centre Shaquille O'Neal for punch and signed former Raptors Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon for depth.

No one doubts Cleveland star James - like Bosh, a pending free agent next summer - is worth $130-million. And, just to prove it, the Cavaliers will be writing a $10-million cheque to cover the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax they'll incur for carrying a $79-million payroll this year.

They're just one of the elite clubs that have shrugged off paying the luxury tax in the name of making a run at a title. The Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs all have made moves to bolster championship-calibre rosters and all will be paying a heavy financial price for a shot at glory.

The Raptors have never ventured into luxury tax territory and - perhaps as a result - have just one trip past the first round to show for it. Today isn't the time for that kind of investment, but the Raptors need to get in position to raise the question.

"There are always going to be teams on the edge that can make the argument that one final move or a specific move can put us where they need to be," Colangelo said. "Are we in a situation where we're ready to do that? I think it's too early to make that proclamation. It needs to be proven this team can compete at a certain level before that next decision gets made."

That's what this season is about.

Colangelo will be the person making that case. Bosh will be the person who, through his performance this season, will have to prove that he's worth the money. Then, MLSE will have to show it is willing pay it.

One way or the other the landscape will vastly different a year from now.

***

TIPSHEET

Notes The Toronto Raptors have proven a difficult team to predict, given all their off-season moves. According to the NBA experts at ESPN, the Raptors are slated to finish as high as fourth in the NBA's Eastern Conference or as low as 10th. The average was seventh. At Sports Illustrated, a survey of NBA scouts had the Raptors holding down the eighth seed in the conference. Meanwhile Basketballprospectus.com, a quantitative-based stats website, predicts the Raptors will repeat their 33-49 record of a year ago and finish 11th. ... Raptors head coach Jay Triano said he's paying attention to the game on the floor, not to prognostications. "It's up to them, I don't know who's doing the [predicting], I don't want to get into either or setting or limiting standards of where we want to be," he said. "I just want to play every single game and play hard. If [people] have us sixth, that's fine, if it's eight it's motivation. We're not going to get involved over where we want to be." ... Triano said he expects to start rookie DeMar DeRozan at shooting guard alongside Jose Calderon, Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani. ... Sonny Weems (foot) didn't practise yesterday and will start the season on the inactive list along with Reggie Evans (left foot sprain) and Quincy Douby. The Raptors are 7-3 on opening night at the Air Canada Centre.

Next Cleveland Cavaliers at Raptors , 7 p.m. EDT

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Michael Grange

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