A few days ago I had a conversation with NQTC reader Black Rob.  I sent him a link to a story about the Raptors trading Jason Kapono to the 76ers for Reggie Evans, a power forward.  I remarked “Does that qualify as news” after I sent the link.  He laughed because we both knew that it was a minor meaningless trade that no one gave a shit about.  Until now that is.  A Bleacher Report story is speculating that the deal may have meant a lot more than I originally thought:

This deal wasn’t anything major, which is probably why nobody either noticed or cared that it took place on the day of Game Three of the Magic-Lakers Championship series. But the domino effect that might happen could be something everyone notices.

Let me state again, for emphasis, what the Raptors did yesterday: They traded for a power forward.

This comes within a handful of days of the Raptors’ franchise player, Chris Bosh, saying he would join Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter on the list of Toronto’s former franchise players after the 2009-10 season.

There have been rumors since before the trade deadline this spring that there are nearly a dozen teams interested in the young superstar, but this specific trade brings one rumored exchange into focus.

The Chicago Bulls are looking at losing guard Ben Gordon either in free agency or, more likely, in a sign-and-trade deal this summer.

Gordon’s name was linked to rumors about Bosh before last season, and his playoff performances against the Boston Celtics certainly raised his profile as an elite scorer in the league.

So is this move a precursor to a bigger deal with Toronto?  Logically it makes sense for both teams, working under the assumption that Bosh will be fleeing Toronto the second the 2010 summer hits.  The report further speculates on who the Bulls might send in a package for Bosh:

The Bulls have a lot of options that might look good to Toronto. They have two first round draft picks in this summer’s NBA draft and have a couple of young bigs in Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas that might be part of a package with a signed-and-traded Gordon.

The trade that would make the most sense in my mind would be Tyrus, Gordon and the #16 pick for Bosh.  That would leave us with a starting lineup of Rose, Salmons/Kirk, Deng, Bosh and Noah with Miller and Salmons/Kirk coming off the bench.  I know some of you would rather see Noah go and keep Tyrus, but I think it would be important to keep Bosh at his natural position of PF.  If Noah were gone, he would have to start at the 5 with TT at the 4.

Wait wait wait!  Don’t pinch me yet…..okay now I’m ready to wake up.  It was a nice dream though, wasn’t it?

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Tags: 76ers, Ben Gordon, Chris Bosh, Joakim Noah, Raptors, Trade Rumors, Tyrus Thomas