Bosh reflects on what could have been as he enters Hall
Former Raptors star came close to starting his career with Heat
As Chris Bosh prepared for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, he was asked about three moments in time that not only could have dramatically altered his career arc, but also the Miami Heat’s trajectory the past two decades.
“Yeah,” the 37-year-old Bosh said this past week, “could have been a lot different.”
Different ... if it was Bosh, and not Dwyane Wade, who went No. 5 to the Heat in the 2003 NBA draft.
Different ... if Bosh bent to the persistence of the Chicago Bulls in 2010 free agency.
Different ... if Bosh had followed through with a perceived pledge to sign with the Houston Rockets in 2014 free agency.
Instead, a career highlighted by Saturday night’s enshrinement speech in Springfield, Mass., a career ultimately defined by the black, white and red of the Heat.
2003 NBA DRAFT
With Vince Carter in the midst of his Toronto career, the Raptors, covered at shooting guard, drafted Bosh at No. 4 in 2003, after LeBron James, Darko Milicic and Carmelo Anthony.
That had Dwyane Wade going No. 5 to the Heat.
In March 2019, when the Heat retired his No. 1 jersey, Bosh pointed to Pat Riley and quipped, “Unfortunately, he had the fifth pick and I went at four, so he had to settle for this kid named D-Wade.”
The past week, in an interview with the Sun Sentinel, Bosh acknowledged Heat interest during the 2003 draft process, and how it could have been different at the start for himself and the Heat.
“In my quest to get drafted, they were recruiting me,” Bosh said. “I still would have had some success, but I don’t know about their 2006 championship. Maybe, maybe not.”
The Heat won the 2006 NBA title led by Wade, but only after acquiring Shaquille O’Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I think I always would have fit the culture,” Bosh said. “Maybe in that alternate universe I get catapulted to stardom earlier, because it was different in Toronto. But who knows? Then maybe the (Heat) Big Three doesn’t get formed.”
Yes, Riley confirmed this past week, had Wade been off the board, Bosh was up next as the Heat’s No. 5 pick in 2003.
2010 FREE AGENCY
Even as the Heat were plotting the eventual Big Three haul of Wade, Bosh and LeBron James, there was a moment during 2010 free agency when Bosh told an NBA executive “I’m coming to play for the Bulls,” to play in a core that also featured Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and at least one more elite free agent.
Under such a scenario, Amar’e Stoudemire may well have been the Heat’s fallback position in place of Bosh.
“They put a lot of pressure on me,” Bosh mused from Springfield, as he settled in for induction weekend activities, with the Bulls emphasizing to him at the time that the Heat were not going to be able to sign him, Wade and James.
The Bulls, Bosh said, insisted that if he signed on the spot, they would also land Wade or James.
“They showed me scenarios with Dwyane on that team,” Bosh said. “They showed me scenarios with LeBron on that team. At the time, Miami still had a lot of hoops to jump through.”
Those hoops were cleared. Trips to the NBA Finals followed for the Heat from 2011 to 2014, with championships in 2012 and 2013.
2014 FREE AGENCY
In the wake of James opting to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bosh received a four-year, $88-million (U.S.) offer from the Rockets in the summer of 2014. Riley then was given mere hours to come up with even more, eventually extending a five-year, $118-million deal.
At the time, the Rockets thought they had a done deal, ready to contend in the Western Conference with a core of James Harden, Dwight Howard and Bosh.
“If I would have been on that team, I would have been pretty confident that we could have been successful,” Bosh said. “I was having conversations with James and with Dwight.”
Had those Rockets conversations turned into reality, Riley said the impact on the Heat would have been significant.
“If Chris had left, we would have maxed out Dwyane, still brought in Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts and those players had sort of committed to us,” Riley said. “We would have started over, saved it for another year.”
Instead, Wade was offered something less, which factored into his 2018 departure to the Bulls, with Riley trying to build around Bosh with the 2015 acquisition of Goran Dragic .