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Chris Bosh Won’t Be Available Until February, Cavs Should Explore

By Quenton S. Albertie

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Chris Bosh won’t be available until February. Once he’s waived, the Cleveland Cavaliers should be the first team to call his agent.

According to Basketball Insiders Steve Kyler, Chris Bosh won’t be available to other teams until February.

Chris Bosh isn’t supposed to be playing. That’s what most doctors say. Bosh had missed games for the last two seasons because of blood clots that traveled from his calf to his lung, causing pain and slowing blood flow in those areas. The presence of large and multiple blood clots, which Bosh is susceptible to because he keeps up a high level of activity, can be fatal.

Subsequently, Bosh takes blood thinners which makes him more vulnerable to bleeding from contact or during surgery. However, if he stops taking the blood thinners the clots will re-emerge. That’s the skinny of Bosh’s medical issue.

Bosh believes he can play on blood thinners because he’s taking a new type of blood thinner that will leave his system after eight hours rather than staying in his system for an entire day. However, he failed the Miami Heat’s physical last week. The Heat have since cut ties to Bosh.

That situation is interesting as well. The Miami Heat announced that Bosh’s career in Miami was over publicly at the team’s media day. Bosh said he hadn’t been contacted by Riley.

Riley said he reached out to Bosh three days before the team made its announcement.

The Miami Heat’s announcement caused a ripple of surprise and support, especially from Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James.

After the Miami Heat’s handling of Dwyane Wade’s contract situation for the past two summers, the franchise’s “Heat Lifer” is being questioned. In Wade’s standoff with the Miami Heat, James was critical of the team then too.

James was Bosh’s teammate for four years with the Miami Heat after James was acquired in 2010. They, along with Wade, formed the most vilified Big Three in NBA history.

The trio was an immensely talented collection of superstars. Wade had already won an NBA title in Miami in 2006 and was averaging 26.6 points per game the season before joining forces with James and Bosh. James was widely regarded as the best player in the league and the only player with the natural ability to be better than Michael Jordan.

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James was averaging 29.7 points per game the season before he joined the Miami Heat. Bosh was a five-time All-Star at 26 years old and was averaging 24.0 points per game the season before he joined the Miami Heat. Together, the trio went to the NBA Finals for four straight years and won back-to-back NBA titles in 2012 and 2013.

James’ familiarity with Bosh has made the Cleveland Cavaliers an obvious destination for those that speculate on his future. However, should Bosh be waived, the Cavs won’t be able to explore that option until February 9.

The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement allows a player who suffers a career-ending injury to continue to receive their salary although it’s removed from the team payroll. As of today, Bosh has already received $9.6 million of his salary.

The Miami Heat must waive Bosh and then apply for the exception after league physicians and the player’s association determine Bosh’s condition is career-ending. After a waiting period, 60 days after the player’s last game or the anniversary of his last game of the previous season, whichever is later, the team can apply for an exception. Bosh’s last game was played on Feb. 9, 2016 against the San Antonio Spurs. Therefore, the Miami Heat have to wait until February 9 of next year to apply for an exception.

Ultimately, Bosh will be on the Miami Heat until the team can prove that Bosh’s condition constitutes a risk that is “medically unacceptable”. Once waived, the Cavaliers should offer Bosh a contract as soon as possible.

Bosh could assume a sixth man role for the Cavs and backup Kevin Love. However, the team can also opt to start Bosh and Love together. Last year, Bosh posted a PER of 27.2 as a center compared to 17.9 as a power forward.

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Defensively, Bosh was better as a power forward as he held his opponents to a PER of 14.9. However, he wasn’t shabby as a center. Opposing centers only held an average PER of 16.7 when playing against him. As a matter of fact, when James played with the Miami Heat, Bosh was the team’s regular starting center after the Big Three’s first season together.

Love may be able to play center too. He’s come into training camp with a sculpted physique and looks stronger. Strong enough to bang around with the big boys in the middle at the very least.

Bosh and the Heat are in store for a bitter end and terrible breakup. However, the Cavs are a great option for Bosh once he’s a free agent. Bosh has familiarity with James, he won’t have to be a 20-point per game scorer, and  he can be a starter, and he’ll be on a squad in championship contention.

There’s an interesting piece of the Bosh saga to note here. Should he play in 25 games after being considered to have a career-ending injury, his salary will go back on the Heat’s payroll. This nuance to the exception, in which Darius Miles (a former player for the Cleveland Cavaliers) is a reference point, could be what Bosh is referring to when he says that the Miami Heat won’t be using his injury for cap space.

Bosh could win ring a ring or two in Cleveland, retire, and then enjoy his post-playing career to the fullest extent. That’s a fitting end for a player who has sacrificed as much as he has over the course of his NBA career.

Related Story: LeBron Tried To Recruit Chris Bosh To Sign With Cavs

What do you think of Chris Bosh’s dispute with the Miami Heat? Would you want Bosh in Cleveland? Let us know in the comments section or tweet @KJG_NBA and @30for30Albertie.