Chris Bosh reportedly has received some unfortunate news, but there’s a silver lining — for the team that employs him, anyway.
NBA doctors and the NBA Players Association confirmed in a medical review that Bosh has suffered a career-ending illness, multiple news outlets reported Friday. The ruling allows the Miami Heat to place the 33-year-old forward on waivers this offseason, essentially removing him from their salary cap.
Bosh is under contract through the 2018-19 season and is set to make about $52 million over the next two campaigns — $25.3 million in 2017-18 and $26.8 million in 2018-19. He’ll still be paid in full, with much of the salary covered by insurance, but those figures now won’t count against Miami’s cap space. The ruling means the Heat will drop back under the NBA’s salary cap and will have about $37 million available when free agency begins July 1, per the Miami Sun-Sentinel.
Bosh initially was diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung in February 2015, which ended his season. The 11-time All-Star returned for the 2015-16 campaign, but health issues lingered, and he was shut down for the season after a blood clot manifested in his leg. He failed a physical in September 2016 and hasn’t played since.
The NBA doctors’ ruling doesn’t necessarily prevent Bosh from playing somewhere other than Miami, but he’d need to give the NBA sufficient medical evidence that he’s healthy enough to play if he wants to return, which at this point seems unlikely.
Thumbnail photo via Sam Sharpe/USA TODAY Sports Images
