#Miami Heat rumors have the team making some bold moves on July 4. The Heat officially waived #Chris Bosh in an effort to move in a new direction and then team president Pat Riley made a shocking announcement to fans. In honor of his playing time with the Heat, the franchise is now planning to retire the jersey of Chris Bosh. No announcement was made about when exactly that will take place.
Chris Bosh was part of the "big three" with the Miami Heat, coming to the team during the same NBA offseason as LeBron James. The trio took the franchise to the NBA Finals in four straight seasons before James went back to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dwyane Wade decided to sign with the Chicago Bulls.
Bosh stayed behind with the Heat, re-signing on a long-term contract, but his health simply couldn't hold up.
What happens with the Chris Bosh contract?
As these Miami Heat rumors indicate, by waiving the Chris Bosh contract, the team will free up a lot of money to use under the salary cap. This will allow the team to clear $52.1 million over the next two years from their books. While he will still make that money, with most of it covered by insurance for the Heat due to his health condition, it will no longer count against what the franchise can spend for the 2017-18 NBA season.
Chris Bosh played in Miami for six seasons and was a main part of the championship teams in 2012 and 2013. He has been named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team in 11 of his 13 NBA seasons and a lot of analysts feel that he could wind up in the Basketball Hall of Fame some day.
His playing career may not be over either, but blood clots have forced him to the sidelines and there is no clear timetable for when he might be on the court again. It just won't be in Miami.
The Miami Heat have had a busy NBA offseason
Knowing that the franchise would likely lose Chris Bosh and have money to spend, the team made a big effort to sign free agent Gordon Hayward away from the Utah Jazz.
He has been an All-Star player in the Western Conference and looked like a good fit next to Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic with the Heat. News on July 4 seems to indicate that Hayward is ready to go to the Boston Celtics, even though there are conflicting reports about the situation.
The best news out of this whole situation came when Pat Riley stated that nobody was going to ever wear No.
1 for the franchise again. It not only shows the importance that Chris Bosh has to the history of the franchise, but that Riley and the front office realize just how much Bosh dedicated to the team. With this situation now settled, there may be additional Miami Heat rumors about the team targeting other free agents or making trades with that new salary cap space.
