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NBPA Monitoring Chris Bosh Situation

October 14th, 2016 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

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.

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Cavaliers Were Interested In Signing Dwyane Wade

October 12th, 2016 at 6:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers wanted to sign Dwyane Wade this summer, but couldn’t make it work financially, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com.

Cleveland had the highest payroll in the league last season and has more than $122.6MM committed for 2016-17. That left the team with little flexibility when negotiations between Wade and the Heat broke down in early July. But it doesn’t mean the defending champs weren’t very interested.

“We couldn’t afford him,” said LeBron James, Wade’s longtime friend and former teammate in Miami. “It’s that simple.”

Chicago gave Wade a two-year, $47MM deal with a player option on the second season. To clear enough cap space for the signing, all the Bulls had to do was arrange deals involving Jose Calderon and Mike Dunleavy Jr. Ironically, the Cavs benefited from one of those moves, picking up Dunleavy in a deal involving the draft rights to two players taken more than a decade ago.

Cleveland would have needed a major roster adjustment in a short time to create the cap space needed to chase Wade. As it was, all the franchise had to offer was the taxpayer midlevel exception, which was only worth about $3.5MM. That money was eventually used to re-sign Richard Jefferson.

“Who wouldn’t be interested in a Hall of Famer?” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said about the possibility of acquiring Wade. “That don’t even make sense. Yeah, we wanted him.”

James has spoken often about his friendship with Wade and the possibility of someday teaming up with him, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul. He also addressed the sudden break-up of the dominant Miami teams, while hinting that a reunion with Wade could still occur some day.

“In professional sports things can change from one year to another like that, so I’ve always had that perspective ever since I came into the NBA,” James said. “I’ve always known it’s a business and you could be with one team this year — have teammates this year, the next year you might not have them. That’s part of the business. So I’ll always have that perspective.”

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Heat, Kings Have Had "Vague" Trade Talks

October 12th, 2016 at 11:30am CST by Luke Adams
  • The Heat and Kings have had some “vague” trade discussions since July, sources tell Lowe. It’s not clear which players’ names came up in those talks, but both teams have veterans who have been the subject of trade speculation, including Goran Dragic (Heat) and Rudy Gay (Kings).
  • According to sources near the Chris Bosh situation in Miami, the most likely scenario is the Heat waiting until after March 1 to waive the veteran big man, so that he wouldn’t be eligible to appear in the postseason for another team. Lowe believes another team would take a minimum-salary flier on Bosh in that scenario though, which could complicate the Heat’s ability to clear his cap hit from their books.

    [SOURCE LINK]
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Heat Trying To Integrate Multiple Players During Preseason

October 11th, 2016 at 9:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito
  • The Heat elected to schedule the league-maximum of eight preseason games because of the need to integrate all their new players who need as much action as possible in order to develop chemistry, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. “I think we’re going to need every one of those eight games,” said coach Erik Spoelstra, who is working with 10 new players. “With previous teams, when we had veteran-laden teams and you bring a large portion of your team back, arguably it might not be as important.“
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Latest On Chris Bosh

October 11th, 2016 at 5:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Chris Bosh situation remains in something of a holding pattern, with no roster move expected from the Heat in the near future. The team has indicated it doesn’t expect Bosh to play for them again due to blood-clotting issues, while the veteran big man has said he doesn’t intend to retire. In the latest video in his Uninterrupted.com series, Bosh doubled down on his vow to return to the court, suggesting he’ll “do everything it takes to get back out there” and adding that he wants to “defy the odds.”

“I’m not really thinking about money. I’m just thinking about where my heart is,” Bosh said. “I love the NBA. I love playing basketball every day for a living. … I just would feel like I’m giving up if I just walked away easily, like that.”

As Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports writes, even though the Heat insist their decision is based on Bosh’s health and well-being, there are financial aspects that must be considered. Since the team could potentially recoup a huge chunk of cap room if Bosh is ruled medically unfit to return to action, Miami will likely exercise patience and avoid making a move anytime soon — the team couldn’t apply for that cap relief until February at the earliest.

Meanwhile, one of Bosh’s former teammates, current Cavs forward James Jones, is confident that the All-Star big man will make it back, telling Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders that Bosh “will play again.”

“From a health perspective, I know [Chris] will do everything in his power and medicine these days is amazing,” Jones said. “He’ll find a way to get back. No way will he allow the game to be taken away from him for a medical reason. But like always, he’s methodical, he’s very very patient and he’ll figure it out. We’re all pulling for him because this is a brotherhood. Not only because this is the NBA but by playing on a team like that, it’s a brotherhood, and you always want to see your brother’s dreams and legacies fulfilled.”

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Heat Notes: Udrih, Richardson, Johnson, Spoelstra

October 10th, 2016 at 7:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran point guard Beno Udrih wants to get past the injury that ended his season in February and the controversy that surrounded his release from Miami, relays Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald. Udrih hopes to take the court this week after being sidelined with tightness in his back. It will be his first game action since undergoing surgery for a torn plantar plate in his right foot. A week after the procedure, he agreed to a buyout, sacrificing $90K in a move that brought the Heat under the luxury tax and enabled them to sign Joe Johnson. Udrih re-signed with Miami in August and wants to prove he can still contribute despite the injuries and despite turning 34 in July. “I’m just going to be me, try to be consistent and bring some leadership, some pace to the game and maybe with that leadership and experience that I gained during the last 12, 13 years, just slow things down sometimes,” he said. “Sometimes, maybe, we play a little bit too fast.”

There’s more news out of Miami:

  • Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says no timetable has been set regarding Josh Richardson‘s return from injury because the team wants to be careful about rushing him back, Navarro writes in the same story. Richardson suffered a partially torn MCL in his left knee in September and was projected to have a six- to eight-week recovery time. When he does return, the second-year guard can expect to take on a variety of roles. “That’s the strength and ultimately the necessity of this roster — ultimately it’s the versatility,” Spoelstra said. “Guys have to be able to play in different spots and different positions on the floor. We talk about it all the time, but it’s reality. J-Rich is used to that. He literally he can play anywhere — the three perimeter positions offensively and defensively.”
  • Tuesday’s preseason game will give Tyler Johnson his first chance to see the Nets since they gave him a four-year, $50MM offer sheet, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Miami matched the offer to keep the 24-year-old combo guard, who is grateful to the Nets for setting his price so high. “I could tell from the get-go that they were very interested,” Johnson said. “And they were working with me very well during contract negotiations. So, yeah, I’m very appreciative of what they did and setting that price point, for sure.”
  • This offseason provided the ultimate test for Spoelstra’s philosophy of moving forward, notes Jeff Zillgett of USA Today. The Heat had to deal with Dwyane Wade‘s departure, Chris Bosh‘s failed physical and a massive roster upheaval, but Spoelstra doesn’t want to use any of that as an excuse for failure. “This team that I’m coaching right now, what they deserve is my absolute full attention and commitment,” Spoelstra said. “That’s what they’re getting. … What you have is different challenges each year, and we’re in this profession to develop teams, to get players to learn how to serve and sacrifice and play for something bigger than themselves.”
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Club Faces Difficult Decision On Weber

October 6th, 2016 at 7:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • The Heat face a tough decision on point guard Briante Weber, according to Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders. Though Weber has only played in seven NBA games, he has shown enough upside that it will be difficult for the Heat to keep him off the opening-day roster, Taylor continues. Weber also has a partially-guaranteed contract, but veteran Beno Udrih looms as the main backup point man and Josh Richardson should return during the first month of the season from his knee injury, Taylor notes. If Weber is let go, another team would snatch him up quickly, Taylor adds.
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Players Who Can Veto Trades

October 4th, 2016 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

No-trade clauses are rare in the NBA, and they became even rarer this offseason, when several players with those clauses in their contracts either called it a career or signed new deals. Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett, who all opted for retirement, had no-trade clauses last season, and so did Dwyane Wade, who doesn’t have the same protection on his new contract with the Bulls.

Nonethless, while the list of players with explicit no-trade clauses may be dwindling, there are still several players each year who have the ability to veto trades. A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract – or a two-year contract with an option clause – is given no-trade protection, and so is a player who signs an offer sheet and has that offer matched by his previous team. Players who accept qualifying offers after their rookie deals expire can also block deals, though no restricted free agents signed their QOs this year.

Taking into account that list of criteria, here are the players who must give their consent if their teams want to trade them during the 2016/17 league year:

No-trade clauses

Players whose offer sheets were matched

Players accepting qualifying offers

  • None

Players re-signing for one year (or two years including an option)

Information from Basketball Insiders and Yahoo! Sports was used in the creation of this post.

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Spoelstra Still Supportive Of Bosh

October 1st, 2016 at 8:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Coach Erik Spoelstra continues to support Chris Bosh despite his ongoing feud with the organization, writes Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald. After failing his training camp physical over a blood clot issue and hearing from team president Pat Riley that his days with the Heat were likely over, Bosh responded with a video Friday in which he claims that he can still play and accuses Riley of not reaching out to him before announcing the news to reporters. The Heat denied Bosh’s charges, saying that Riley had called, texted and emailed Bosh and his agent in an attempt to set up a meeting. Regardless of the dispute and the pessimistic view of Bosh’s future in Miami, Spoelstra refused to criticize his former star. “I love Chris Bosh, his family. I said this so many times, Chris was very important to me as a head coach,” Spoelstra said. “With those teams, he was somebody I really leaned on. That extended outside the lines. It’s something I really have enjoyed and my hope is that relationship can continue.” Those comments were echoed by many of Bosh’s teammates, including Udonis Haslem, who said, “It’s not easy just to walk away.”

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Latest On Chris Bosh

September 30th, 2016 at 4:52pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite failing his most recent physical and not being cleared to participate in training camp, Chris Bosh still wants and intends to continue his NBA career, though, it appears he’s resigned to the fact that it won’t be in Miami, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.com relays. Team president Pat Riley told reporters during Miami’s media day, “I think Chris is still open-minded. But we are not working toward his return We feel that, based on the last exam, that his Heat career is probably over.” In response to that, Bosh addressed the matter in a video post today:

“Got the news. I was in disbelief for a couple seconds, then I threw my phone down and I stormed out the room… But I’m glad I didn’t break my phone. I wanted to break it, but I didn’t….I guess my career in Miami is done. My career is not done. I did not expect that at all…. That does not mean my NBA career is over. There are 29 other teams, it’s a whole league. One team does not make up the opinion of everything.”

Bosh also took a shot at Riley and the team, saying, “I want to tell everyone in Miami this is not how I planned it to be. They don’t want to hear Dwyane Wade is gone. They don’t want to hear, ‘oh yea, Chris is never going to play for the Miami Heat again.’ People don’t want to hear that. I just feel for the fans. I wanted to give them more, I wanted to give them something better. Because they deserve better than what they’re getting right now.”

The forward also penned a letter to Heat fans on his personal blog, writing:

“It’s funny how things change. All I have right now associated with basketball are my friends and memories. And I’m so thankful for those things. I remember just a few years ago when the Big 3 were together and we were having a ball playing the game we love with some of the most professional, talented guys the NBA has ever seen. I remember the fans of Miami coming out to see the show every night. The love, the compassion and the energy we felt was second to none. I want to thank the city of Miami from the bottom of my heart because things may change but the good times will last forever in my memories. Thank you!

Things are different now and Miami has incredible young talent with a tremendous upside. These are not only talented ball players but great people and friends. I enjoyed playing with those guys and doing my best to mentor them by being an upstanding role model and veteran player. It’s their time to go through the ups and downs of the game with this great city. I want to thank not only the fans of Miami but everyone around the world who has supported our team and who has supported me through this time. I see you posting with #BoshRebuilt on social media every day and I receive the love that you give me. Thank you so much. I couldn’t make it without your support.“

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