NBA Rumors: Chris Bosh to attempt comeback next season
By Connor Learn
The future of Chris Bosh’s career has hung in the balance as health issues have his future looking uncertain. New details emerged about the intentions of the two-time champion.
Blood clots have sidelined 32-year-old Chris Bosh for the better parts of each of the last two seasons. When Bosh reported to Heat camp in September, their doctors didn’t clear him to play because of this issue and team President Pat Riley said that his career with the Heat was over.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald provided some more detail into Chris Bosh’s current ordeal today. As Jackson puts it, “the mindset at the moment is that he’s more likely to attempt a comeback next season than this season,” according to a league source connected to Bosh. Just whether Bosh comes back or not is potentially very important to the Heat organization and the NBA.
Chris Bosh still has two years and slightly more than $52 million remaining on his contract after this year. Bosh’s $25.3 salary for the 2017-18 season becomes guaranteed on February 9 of this season. If Miami releases him before then, they’re off the hook for his salary if he stays retired. Insurance covers this as a medical hardship case if he stays retired after his release and Bosh gets his $52 million from them.
The Heat would be able to recover his earnings and spend it on rebuilding their team in this scenario. However, if Bosh comes back and plays 25 or more games in the NBA, the entire $52.1 million he is owed goes right back on the Heat books and kills their cap space.
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Bosh has a future in the NBA Hall of Fame. His two rings with the Heat, eleven All-Star nods and even his league-record three NBA Shooting Stars Challenge wins will assure that. At 32, he has accomplished a lot over his career and could call it quits. But if an independent doctor finds Bosh to be healthy, it could change things. He may also want to end his career on his own terms. He can chase another championship—the Golden State Warriors or Cleveland Cavaliers would love to have him—or even choose to end his career where it started in Toronto.
How he chooses to end his career deeply effects the Miami Heat and could potentially play a role in determining another NBA championship.