The National Basketball Players Association is monitoring the Chris Bosh situation in Miami, reports Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. At this point, there’s no need for the NBPA to step in, but the union is examining the situation and would take a more “proactive” approach if there’s an eventual belief that Bosh could continue his playing career.
While Bosh has vowed to make his way back to the court, there appears to be no disagreement that such a return is not possible for the time being, after blood-clotting issues resurfaced during a September physical. For now, the two sides are in something of a holding pattern — if the Heat want to eventually gain cap relief by removing Bosh’s contract from their books, the team would have to keep the big man on the 15-man roster until at least February 9 before waiving him.
A report from ESPN’s Zach Lowe this week indicated that the Heat may ultimately decide to hang onto Bosh until after March 1. Waiving him after that date would prevent Bosh from being playoff-eligible for another team, and it wouldn’t allow him to play 25 games for a club during the 2016/17 season — if Bosh plays 25 regular-season or playoff games in a season after he’s cut by the Heat, his cap hit would revert to the club’s books, so the NBPA will keep a close eye on the situation to prevent any attempts by Miami to game the system.
While Bosh remains on the Heat’s roster, and may continue to do so for several months, he hasn’t reported to the team, and there has been no indication that he’ll be on the bench or in the locker room once the season begins.
President Pat Riley has suggested that the team doesn’t expect Bosh to be in attendance for practices and games, but the relationship between the two sides still appears icy — the players’ union could become involved in that situation if necessary, especially considering Bosh parted ways with his previous representation and has yet to inform the team of his new agent, per Winderman.