NBA players & Twitter; Entertaining, inside news but will Chris Bosh tweets cost him millions?

When working with businesses and startups using twitter/social media, I often mention to be careful what you say using these mediums. With just one slip of the keyboard or a bad day it could cost you your job or a client or create a real embarrassing moment. For NBA athlete Chris Bosh @ChrisBosh it could cost him millions. It is being reported by @ESPN and more that the Toronto Raptors @raptors, Chris Bosh current team is upset about his use of twitter while pursuing NBA free agency. Here’s what ESPN reporter @jadande stated in an recent article Bosh-Raptors deal losing luster article:

Bosh’s Twitterization of the courting process, which included several tweets of anticipation leading up to the July 1 commencement of free agency, didn’t sit well with the Raptors either, the source said.

Also watch the ESPN NBA Free agency update on: LeBron James, DeWayne Wade, Chris Bosh and

As a business man I could totally see why the @Raptors would be upset. They are going to lose their star player, they have paid him well over the years and now he’s publicly tweeting about having conversations with other teams to join them. But also as a fan of the @NBA and I’m sure agents and players will tell you, that’s the life of an NBA player and that’s business too. One day Chris Bosh will get old and won’t have the skills that he posses now and have very little say over what he team could play for. But for now Chris is in the driver seat, tweeting about his meetings with other teams and it seems that he’s enjoying every second of it.

The question remains if the @Raptors are indeed upset with Chris Bosh tweeting and will they try to prevent him from a sign and trade deal that could cost him millions. I hope not, as we’re seeing more athletes use @twitter I think it’s good for them to share their life experiences to allow friends /fans to stay connected. It’s something I also discussed with NASCAR driver @David_Ragan in a recent interview that you can watch here. I’m sure @ESPN or news organizations may think otherwise as they would like to be the number one source for sports news. Can you image how upset @ESPN or other news sites would be if LeBron James told the world what team he will sign with vis twitter first vs anywhere else? I for one hope he does it or launches his new website. http://www.lebronjames.com then tweets his news to the announcement back to his website. Let the athletes control their news and vs the media controlling it. Speaking of tweeting, that reminds me, why do we retweet a story from let’s say a tech blog about a google announcement when we can just tweet or share the actual Google announcement it self? …. Sorry sidebar now back to the NBA.

If you look at Chris Bosh’s tweets he really hasn’t said anything to crazy, just tweeting about meetings and sharing a photo with DeWayne Wade. Should that cost him millions of dollars? I hope not and I think it really comes down to control. Chris Bosh is a free agent, he does play in the NBA and just as long as he’s not breaking any of the NBA rules or their social media policy rules the Toronto Raptors should understand the business of free agency and I hope they understand twitter, if not, shoot me an email. Regardless good luck Chris Bosh and to all of the other NBA players in the free agent space. Keep tweeting, we’re following.

My predictions of a few NBA players and free agency;
Chris Bosh = whever DeWayne Wade goes but I wish he would go to the @Lakers in a sign and trade
LeBron James = stays in Cleveland Cavaliers = they will hate him for life if he leaves.
Dewayne Wade – the Bulls
Amare Stoudemire = New York

Best way to keep track of the NBA free agency: Hoopshype Market Center

Favorite NBA Basketball news site: http://hoopshype.com @hoopshype

What are you thoughts? Should Chris Bosh not tweet about his free agency meetings? Do you follow NBA players on twitter?