While preparing to travel to South Africa to participate in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program, Chris Bosh spoke of his closeness to Toronto.

?It?s kind of crazy, I?ve never spent this much time in the summer here, it?s great,? he said. ?I definitely feel closer to Toronto, I know that for sure.?

Bosh sounds enthusiastic about the coming season with new teammates Hedo Turkoglu, Jarrett Jack, DeMar DeRozan, Marco Belinelli and others.

?I think we?re looking like a good team, and the part I like is I?m not getting too far ahead of myself,? he said. ?I learned that last year. I was like, ?Yeah, we?re good and we?re going to be good? and we weren?t. I?m taking a more humble approach this year, and it?s making me work harder.

?I don?t want to do bad this year. I want this team do well and be successful as we can be ? that?s enough motivation for me right now.?

Earlier this offseason, Bosh indicated that he wasn't interested in discussing an extension, but he his interest is at least slightly piqued.

?We haven?t read the book yet, but when he has it ready, I?ll gladly sit down and talk about it, discuss pros and cons, and come to a decision,? Bosh said. ?But I like that we?re not sitting around, waiting around, putting all our eggs in the basket and saying we?re going to wait for 2010 because we want to have [salary] cap space to get players you might not be able to sign. The do-it-now approach is very motivating, for everyone.

?We?re a lot deeper and I think we have a fantastic team. If we work on the small things, we can make some noise.?