National Basketball Association

Sitting Chris Bosh would hinder the Miami Heat's future

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

If the Miami Heat have finances in mind, there is only one way to resolve the Chris Bosh situation.

Ever since Chris Bosh lost his second consecutive second half of NBA basketball to a blood clot scare, the narrative has been about the Miami Heat trying to find ways to dump him.

Talk of the team holding their all-star out became an issue when people began to notice that Bosh’s road playoff travels meant that he was clot free. Things only intensified when his wife, Adrienne, started her “Bring Bosh Back” social media campaign.

It even went as far as a Stephen A. Smith, First Take, rant about the couple’s camp being in fear of the many ways Pat Riley’s shrewd business tactics could rid the team of the remaining years on his contract. Tactics that onlookers assumed would involve having general manager, Andy Elisburg, work his salary-cap magic to secure at least two big named free agents to fill the void. But with Russell Westbrook off of the board and rumors of Blake Griffin signing back in Los Angeles, next summer’s options have dwindled.

That is just one reason why not playing Bosh if he is healthy makes no sense. Another is that sitting him—after the release of his recent workout videos—would eventually result in a battle between the league and the players’ union. Regardless of whether the two sides agree on the big man’s ideas of playing while on medication.

Jan 26, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Thaddeus Young (30) defends Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh (1) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Either way, the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman pointed out the biggest reason why the Heat can’t bank on an early retirement by Bosh:

“If the Heat hold him out, perhaps with an eye on salary-cap relief on Feb. 9, all Bosh has to do is then sign with any other team at the minimum and the Heat would be on the hook — both in terms of cash due and salary-cap cash — for the balance of Chris’ deal.”

Another team would surely take on the low-risk, high-reward of a minimum contract power forward who averaged 19 points, seven rebounds and shot 37 percent from three last season.

Chris Bosh’s situation with the Miami Heat is starting to get ugly

Unfortunately for teams, playing a minimum of 10 games for another organization results in a financial responsibility to pay said player what they are owed.

A scenario like that defeats the Heat’s purpose of going through the entire struggle. Miami would not only be out of a bona fide star, they would be cash strapped until 2019 with nothing to show for it. No relief and no money to pay in order to fill empty roster space.

Per league rules, if a player misses a year of action for medical reasons, a team can apply to have his contract removed from the cap. However, this is a complicated and indefinite process.

The Heat really have no choice but to stick things out and see how far Bosh’s health will take them.