Chris Bosh is making himself available for a comeback
Chris Bosh had his career abbreviated by a health issue, but he’s still eyeing an NBA comeback.
In February during back-to-back seasons, 2015 and 2016, Chris Bosh was taken off the floor by blood clot issues. The risk to his long-term health was clearly not worth it to keep playing basketball. But Bosh has consistently maintained he has not given up on returning, despite a dire diagnosis by the Miami Heat and a similar independent diagnosis from the NBA.
Bosh and the Heat reached a resolution to the situation last summer, as the team officially waived him and cleared the remainder of his contract from their salary cap. In December Bosh reiterated he was contemplating a return attempt, and on Thursday morning he took it up a notch.
Appearing in ESPN’s “First Take”, Bosh publicly declared he’s ready to go if an NBA team wants him.
"I’ve been in the gym,” he said. “I can still play basketball. No. I’m not done yet. Yeah, I’m trying to come back. Man, I see all these guys shooting 3’s and not playing defense, and, man, I’m saying I’ve got to get some of it."
Bosh went a little further to dismiss the concern over the second time the blood clot issue surfaced. He previously seemed to be in search of a doctor who would give him clearance to play, and it seems nothing has changed as he dismissed any life-threatening risks or concerns.
"Medicine is like law. That’ I’ve come to find out,” Bosh told “First Take” on Thursday. “It’s very gray area. Some people say yes. Some people say no. Usually it’s about what the majority agrees to, and usually sometimes it’ll take somebody to kind of have some revolutionary plan or something like that. I’m not going to be in a position where I’m risking my life, so if I ever get back on the court like that and people are worried, it’s not going to be a life-risking situation."
Bosh pointed to contending teams specifically as potential landing spots, ahead of March 1 deadline for players to sign and be eligible for the playoffs. He named the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors as his proverbial top three teams. When the Cleveland Cavaliers were added, specifically alongside the Raptors, Bosh said he would go to “whoever makes me the best deal.”
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Without this season and next season that he’ll get paid by the Heat, Basketball Reference has Bosh’s career salary at just under $190 million. It’s easy to appreciate the competitive desire to play basketball again, and to root for Bosh to pull it off. But the risks still aren’t worth the reward.