Maurizio Gherardini, one of the most successful basketball executives in Europe, has emerged as one of the top candidates to become the Raptors' assistant general manager, the Toronto Sun is reporting.

It is believed the Raptors have inquired about Gherardini, the long-time general manager of powerful Benetton Treviso of the Italian League.

"There is a lot of speculation of what might happen with the assistant GM spot," Colangelo said. "When it comes time to make an announcement about a hire and when something becomes official, we'll certainly release that. But there is a lot of speculation and I don't want to fuel speculation by commenting on one candidate."

Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo has given Sam Mitchell the green light to return next season to the Raptors' bench.

"(Mitchell) is under contract (for one more season) and he'll be the coach of this team next year," Colangelo said.

"I do believe that Sam -- and I felt this at the very beginning and I feel this a month and a half into this process -- deserves the opportunity to succeed or fail with the group we're going to put on the floor next year," Colangelo said.

Raptors fans can now breathe easily after forward Chris Bosh said today: "I'll gladly come back," Bosh said, confirming he'll sign a lucrative six-year contract extension this summer.

"My whole thing is 'why not?' " said Bosh, who as a three-year pro was entering into an offseason in which the Raptors had exclusive negotiating rights. "I have a chance to have my own team, be a leader on the team and challenge myself to bring it back up."

Bryan Colangelo said on Tuesday that if efforts to re-sign Mike James, a pending free agent, were unsuccessful, he'd consider a sign-and-trade with the veteran guard.

"All I can say is he's been a nice piece of this team and the right piece for this team," Colangelo said. "We'd like him back, but if not, we'll take the necessary steps to improve our team."

Chris Bosh said Sunday that the hiring of president and general manager Bryan Colangelo a couple of months ago is a significant step in the right direction for the Raptors.

"Them getting Colangelo, a well-certified general manager ? he has a good reputation around the league and I'm sure he doesn't want to mess up that reputation ? I think that was a very good move," Bosh said yesterday.

"That convinced me a lot."

Bosh can be locked up this summer by Colangelo to a six-year extension and every move subsequent move will pivot around that contract.

"Like I tell everybody: `Don't worry, if the organization does what it's supposed to do, I'll do what I'm supposed to do. And everything will work out,'" said Bosh.

Charlie Villanueva has been fighting stomach pain, nausea, dizziness - and it overcame him again on Friday night in the third quarter against the Detroit Pistons, but he managed to fight through it and record nine points, three steals and four rebounds in the second half as the Raptors snapped a 10-game losing streak by posting a 108-103 victory.

Still, Villanueva planned on visiting a doctor on Saturday in attempt to get a handle on why he keeps getting ill during games.

"I just assumed it was the flu and I would get over it, but it still hasn't gone," a frustrated Villanueva said yesterday, following the team's workout at the Air Canada Centre practice court.

Mike James has a new strategy as he approaches free agency.

"If I sign for less years I'll probably ask for more money," James said after Raptor practice yesterday. "That's probably the way I'll go for the remainder of my career: Sign three-year deals with a player option on my third for the simple fact that I don't want to lock myself into nothing long-term.

"I believe I'm always going to get better and I don't want to lock myself into a deal that I outplay maybe a year or two from now."

The Mike James free agency is getting increasingly interesting as a source close to the club has expressed concerns about the guard, but Bryan Colangelo is being careful about his own comments.

"He scares the stuffing out of me right now," a source with close ties to the Raptors said of James. "Everything that comes out of his mouth lately, it's all about him. All he seems to be concerned about is his stats. You can say all you want. But on a team that's won 20-something games, one of the worst records in the league, it's a bit much to keep trying to pass yourself off as a saviour."

Colangelo has adopted a careful strategy when discussing James.

"We've talked a lot about Mike," Colangelo said. "I'm not going to talk any more about the circumstances, only to say Mike has been a very valuable piece this year. He's done great things for the organization and we'll see if we can work it out where we can keep him."

The Pacers are certain to make many changes this off-season.  One player who has fallen out of favor is Sarunas Jasikevicius.

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star speculates that Bryan Colangelo and the Raptors might be a potential trade partner for the guard.

Because of illness, Dwyane Wade missed the Heat's game against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night.

Shandon Anderson started in Wade's place for Miami, which is battling New Jersey for the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.