The Heat have had the opportunity for the last month and a half to start the process of removing Chris Bosh‘s contract from their cap, but have yet to take serious action on that front. According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, there are two reasons why the Heat are taking their time in pursuing an injury exclusion for Bosh, who last appeared in an NBA game in February 2016.
For one, the Heat still don’t need to use the roster spot that Bosh has occupied for the 2016/17 season, according to Jackson, who notes that none of the players currently – or recently – on the free agent market appeal much to Miami. In addition to not needing the roster spot occupied by Bosh, the club also currently has no use for the cap room his contract is taking up, since that space wouldn’t come in handy until the offseason.
Secondly, Jackson writes, the Heat want to leave the door open for the possibility of trading Bosh after the season. The veteran big man is likely to be ruled medically unfit to continue his career, and Miami is the only team that has the ability to remove his cap hit from its books — any team acquiring him wouldn’t be able to do so. As such, a trade is extremely unlikely, though Jackson suggests there were “preliminary trade inquiries” earlier in the season.
As Jackson explains, if Bosh is ruled medically unfit to play, insurance would cover most of his salary, so Miami wouldn’t be on the hook for much money. But trading him would take the Heat entirely off the hook, and the team wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not an independent physician would sign off on medical retirement — or whether Bosh would return to the court down the road, putting his salary back on their cap. Presumably, any team looking into acquiring Bosh would either have to believe that he can make a comeback or would be looking for the Heat to attach assets of value to his pricey contract.
As we’ve noted in many previous Bosh updates, his career is on hold – and may be permanently over – due to recurring blood clot issues. He’s on track to earn about $52MM over the next two years, but the Heat could remove those cap hits from their books if an independent doctor jointly approved by the NBA and NBPA deems his health issue to be career-ending. If Bosh played 25 games for a new club after being released by the Heat, his cap charge(s) would go back on Miami’s books.
According to Jackson, Bosh was scheduled to speak this week with a high-ranking Heat official.