On the complications of a possible Chris Bosh retirement
If the Miami Heat have finances in mind, a medical retirement by Chris Bosh isn’t as easy as it sounds.
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.
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.
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.
According to salary cap guru Larry Coon, the collective bargaining agreement states that any player returning from a medically induced retirement will have his salary “returned to the team salary when he plays in his 25th game in any one season.”
The players’ ability to return to the court essentially renders the doctor’s career-ending diagnosis wrong. Thus a salary cap reversal is put in place so that teams cannot benefit from an inaccurate medical analysis.
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.
Fans may remember a similar situation with the Portland Trail Blazers and Darius Miles, during the 2008-09 season, when the amount of games played to cause such a reversal was set at 10. However, the CBA has new rules in place that not only adds games, but no longer counts any action from the preseason.
In other words, the Heat could give Bosh a test run before the year starts then proceed to sit him if they perceive any setbacks. But why entertain the hassle when if will ultimately leave your future in limbo?
The Heat really have no choice but to stick things out and see how far Bosh’s health will take them. Until then, everyone should just mimic owner Micky Arison’s tweet and “look forward to seeing [Bosh] in camp.”