The Miami Heat have yet to release Chris Bosh and remove him from the salary cap because they are still holding out hope they could trade him, according to a report.
The Miami Heat have been allowed to start the process of removing Chris Bosh from their salary cap since Feb. 9, but he’s still on the roster. So why have they delayed releasing him?
According to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, the Heat aren’t in a rush for two reasons: (1) they don’t need the roster spot yet, as no current free agents peak their interests, and (2) they haven’t given up on the idea of trading him.
Here’s Jackson:
"“Miami want to keep alive the not-very-likely possibility of being able to trade Bosh (after the season) to a team that might want to trade something Miami wants or a team that believes he could play or (as was the case before last month’s trade deadline) a team that needed to get to the cap floor. There were preliminary trade inquiries earlier this season.”"
As Jackson explains, the Heat would still be on the hook to pay part of Bosh’s insurance if they release him. Trading him would wipe away such an obligation. Also, they are still concerned about the possibility of Bosh’s cap going back on their books if he were to somehow play 25 games for another team after being released from Miami. Chances of that are slim, but possible, and it’s not a chance the Heat front office wants to take if they can avoid it.
So, can the Heat trade him? Doing so would prove difficult. Here’s Jackson, again:
"“A team trading for Bosh would not be permitted to apply to remove his salary from its cap, which would make less him appealing to other teams in a trade.”"
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Between Bosh’s questionable medical status and substantial salary (Bosh is due a total of $51 million over the next two seasons) it’s highly unlikely that a team would be willing to give up an asset, let alone take Bosh on.
As Jackson reports, the Heat intends to part ways with Bosh and remove him from the cap before free agency in July.