Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Window opens for Heat
March 1 the likely action date on Bosh in bid to reclaim cap space
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The tone has changed from Chris Bosh and so, apparently, has the timetable for the Miami Heat’s next move with their sidelined power forward.
Although today, the one-year anniversary of Bosh’s last game played, is the first day the Heat can apply to have Bosh’s salary removed from their salary cap, there appears to be minimal sense of urgency from either side.
Bosh has missed the second half of the past two seasons due to blood clots and then, in the wake of Bosh failing his preseason physical, Heat President Pat Riley said in September, “We feel that, based on the last exam, that his Heat career is probably over.” At the same time, Bosh vowed, “There’s 29 other teams, it’s a whole league. One team does not make up the opinion of everything.”
According to the “Long-Term Injuries” section of the NBA’s collective-bargaining agreement, “Beginning on the first anniversary of the date of the last NBA Regular Season or playoff game in which the player played, the Team may apply to the NBA to have the player’s Salary for each remaining Salary Cap Year.” In Bosh’s case, that would be Feb. 9, 2017.
However there has been negligible comment from either side since that tense standoff between Riley and Bosh before the start of the season.
For now, that silence may continue for at least another three weeks.
Under the provision that would allow the Heat to excise Bosh’s salarycap hit, with his contract still to be fully paid, such a dispensation would be eliminated should Bosh play a total of 25 games in the regular season and playoffs during any remaining season on his current contract, which runs through 2018-19. Because players are not eligible for another team’s playoff roster if waived after March 1, the Heat are expected to now wait until that date before initiating the capclearing process.
For his part, Bosh, 32, has stopped posting basketball-related content on his social-media outlets, after offering routine accounts prior to his failed physical about his intent to return to the court.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month, Bosh appeared to have acknowledged letting go of his previous identity as a championship-winning All-Star power forward.
“I’m still learning more about myself and my situation, and really off the court how to function there because I’m kind of getting the taste of retirement now,” Bosh said, as reported by the Associated Press. “Just trying to navigate those waters because it gets a little complicated sometimes . . . hoping one day that the stars align and I figure some things out and things kind of just go my way and I’ll be able to do what I want to do. I don’t know what that is yet.”
Bosh has spent time around several of his former Heat teammates, but Heat captain Udonis Haslem said the conversation rarely, if ever, has been about basketball. Unlike the previous two seasons when Bosh was sidelined, he has not been around the team this season at American-Airlines Arena or on game nights.
In addition to the remainder of his $23.7 million salary this season, Bosh is due $25.3 million for 2017-18 and $26.8 million for 2018-19.
By rule, Bosh must cooperate with the Heat and NBA at the juncture when the Heat move for salary-cap relief.
Per the collective-bargaining agreement: “If a Team applies to have a player’s Salary excluded from its Team Salary pursuant to this Section 4(h), the player shall cooperate in the processing of the application, including by appearing at the reasonably scheduled place and time for examination by the jointly-selected physician. The player shall not make any misrepresentation or fail to disclose any relevant information in connection with the processing of the application.”
Should the Heat move for such relief in coming days, it would allow such cap space to be utilized in advance of the Feb. 23 NBA trading deadline. That, however, could create the unlikely scenario of then losing out on the opportunity to utilize the regained cap space at the July 1 start of free agency, should Bosh return with another NBA team this season.
Should the Heat utilize cap space cleared by such a request for medical relief and Bosh then resume his NBA career, the Heat would not have to clear the regained cap space, but would be positioned to pay an extensive luxury tax to the NBA.
Bosh remains on the Heat’s 15-player roster, listed an inactive on game nights, with no specific reason for the absence offered, as is allowed in the collective-bargaining agreement for life-threatening absences.
Once the Heat formally move to waive Bosh, the team will be eligible to sign another player in his place.