The Miami Heat will remove Chris Bosh from its roster and salary cap after a medical review has ruled that the 11-time All-Star forward has a career-ending injury. The NBA player has blood clotting issues, which prevented him from playing since February 2016.
Bosh and Heat reach agreement
Bosh and the NBA team have reached an agreement that would enable them to part ways and move forward, ESPN said. The NBA and players' association have instituted a medical review in relation to Chris Bosh's condition since he was not able to play last season and most of the second half of two previous seasons.
The results support the Miami Heat's stand that Bosh's blood clots are a career-ending situation, according to reports from the Palm Beach Post and Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.
With that, the Miami Heat will now be able to waive Bosh and clear his salary, USA TODAY reported. The insurance shall cover his 2017-18 and 2018-19 salaries amounting to $25.3 million and $26.8 million, respectively.
Per ESPN, the agreement would help the Heat because, under the current CBA rules, the Heat would possibly face luxury tax penalties if Bosh were to play again for more than 25 games for another team. Meanwhile, the new CBA, which takes effect on July 1, would have a panel of Doctors that would determine whether a player with a life-threatening condition could still be cleared to play.
Sad news: doctors have ruled Chris Bosh's illness as career ending. Thank you Chris. pic.twitter.com/vcTXRPk3zs
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) June 2, 2017
Bosh still wants to play
Chris has expressed several times his desire to play again and he still hopes to find a treatment plan that would help him. While Bosh would not be able to play for the Miami Heat again, he can return to the court if a medical panel would give him medical clearance to do so.
"I'm still a basketball player at heart. I can't help it," he previously told The Associated Press.
NBA executives were not that hopeful though. Those polled by NBA.com said that it is unlikely that the 33-year-old player will be pursued as a free agent despite his skills. The main concern revolves around his health, per Sun-Sentinel.
Before he went to the hospital in 2015, he was averaging 21.1 points and seven rebounds per game. The Heat announced the day after that Bosh has blood clots in his lungs. He was able to return for the 2015-2016 season, averaging 19.1 points and 7.4 rebounds. However, he was not able to finish the rest of season as it was later revealed that his blood clots returned. He worked on returning last season, but he failed his physical in September before the training camp.
