Should the Cleveland Cavaliers consider signing Chris Bosh?

Should the Cleveland Cavaliers pursue Chris Bosh when his days with the Miami Heat come to an end?

According to Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat are “moving close to resolution that will allow the team to shed Bosh’s salary from its salary cap without concern of that figure returning to its cap”. When that process is complete, should the Cleveland Cavaliers come calling?

In many ways, this sounds like a buyout agreement. A buyout is commonly used as a means to release players from their contracts in a way that pays out a portion of the remaining salary to the player as they’re released rather than factoring that player’s contract into future cap space, as they would have to do if the player was simply waived without a buyout a contract agreement.

In terms of Bosh’s situation, this is a special circumstance as Bosh, the Heat and the National Basketball Players Association have been working together to bridge the rules of the current CBA with the one that will take effect on July 1st.

Winderman does a terrific job explaining the difference in how Bosh’s contract could have an effect on the Heat’s cap under the two CBAs:

"Under the CBA in place until June 30, if Bosh returns to the league his salary-cap hit could be reinstated to the Heat’s ledger over the remaining term of his contract, which expires after the 2018-19 season. However, under the CBA that goes into place July 1, if a medical panel comes to an agreement that it is no longer considered safe for Bosh to continue his career, that would end the risk of Bosh’s cap charge or luxury-tax hit returning to the Heat’s book."

Bosh, who failed a preseason physical ahead of the 2016-2017 season after missing the back half of the 2015-2016 season with blood clots, will be risking his life if he returns to the basketball court.

HoopsHype’s Alex Kennedy explained the situation on Twitter:

Bosh wants to continue his NBA career and while it will be dangerous to do so, he’s trying to mitigate the risk by playing on new blood thinners that will leave his system after about eight hours.

According to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, Bosh wouldn’t be doing anything new by playing on that type of blood thinner:

"Bosh wouldn’t be the first athlete to do that: Former Florida Panthers player Tomas Fleischmann takes anticoagulant injections after games that are out of his system by game time."

Jackson expresses concern that Bosh will be able to play on back-to-backs but with what would be around 20 hours or so between game times, it does seem like Bosh would be able to. The bigger issue could be how long Bosh can sustain a high level of activity.

While it’s certainly an issue that Bosh’s condition could cause him to bleed out, since blood thinners effect the blood’s clotting process, basketball players don’t often get cuts more serious than a minor abrasion and with that it’s not too likely that he’d suffer a cut that would be life-threatening. It is still a possibility though.

Another concern is the potential for Bosh to stop taking his blood thinners, as a blood clot causes pain and numbness in the effected area.

Still, Bosh wants to stay around the NBA. He doesn’t have to be a player to do that but if he was to attempt a comeback, the Cleveland Cavaliers should pursue Bosh.

Why?

The Cavs should pursue Bosh for a couple of reasons and they all have to do with winning, in some way or the other.

First, the Cavs don’t need Bosh and because they don’t need him they won’t ever feel pressured to play him more than necessary.

Second, it would be nice for Bosh to finish his career with a championship contender and hopefully win another NBA championship.

Third, when the Cavs do want to put Bosh on the floor, he’ll be in a role tailored to his offensive strengths playing behind Kevin Love.

Fourth, Bosh will be playing beside LeBron James, who he’s won two NBA championships with.

Bosh, who has averaged 19.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in 13 seasons, is one of the most skilled players in the NBA. He’s extremely efficient from the midrange and the possessor of a nice bag of tricks in the post. He shot 36.9 percent from three-point range (4.0 attempts per game) in his last two seasons, the first two seasons after James returned to Cleveland and Bosh received a more prominent role with the Heat.

Defensively, Bosh’s length, mobility and activity level allowed him to play both the 4 and the 5. With the way the NBA has trended towards more lithe and mobile big men, Bosh will do fine guarding in the post no matter if he’s defending the power forward or center.

A return to the Toronto Raptors, where he started his NBA career, or a decision to join Dwyane Wade in Chicago (or wherever he may go) is possible.

Teaming up with James and joining the Cavs would be a perfect situation.

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Do you think that the Cleveland Cavaliers should pursue Chris Bosh in free agency? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.