Heat beat writer Ira Winderman looks at implications of latest news on Bosh.
MIAMI — As the Miami Heatwait on a definitive diagnosis on Chris Bosh, the NBA’s trading deadline waits on no player. Just like last year.
A year ago, in thewake of a blockbuster trade for Goran Dragic came the news that Bosh would be lost at least for the balance of the season due to blood clots in his lung.
Ayear later, theHeat find themselves in a hauntingly similar position, unsure of Bosh’s status amid a recurrence of clotting, with the clock all the while ticking toward Thursday’s 3 p.m. NBA trading deadline.
It is a convergence of factors that affect both the short- and long-term outlooks of the franchise.
Playoff outlook
Bosh, himself, went into the current All-Star break eyeing the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference as a realistic target, with the Heat just two games behind the Boston Celtics for that spot.
No. 3 in the East not only would deliver home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but likely mean not having to face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers any earlier than the Eastern Conference finals.
“I mean, in my experience, coming into the second half, you alwayswant to look at the standings, see where you are,” Bosh said before this latest health scare. “No matter how you’re playing, you set a goal, like, OK, wewant third place. It’s right there, we can get it. The race is on. And you have to start thinking about those things, so you can have that urgency and motivation every day.”
Now the perspective might be below, with the Heat just 2 games ahead of the Detroit Pistons for the final playoff berth in the East and the Pistons owning the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Pistons on Tuesday bolstered their playoff hopes with the acquisition of versatile OrlandoMagicforwardTobias Harris.
Trading deadline
The view inside the locker room going into the All-Star break had been that by adding another outside shooter, the Heat could position themselves for a climb from their current No. 5 seed and bolster the roster for the playoffs.
Should Bosh be sidelined for an appreciable amount of time, which certainly appears likely, it is doubtful any single move would allow the Heat to do more than tread water, if that even would be possible, considering Bosh stands as the Heat’s top 3-point shooter.
Beyond that, if there is a concern about a careerending loss of Bosh, it could get the Heat to reconsider any potential trade of Hassan Whiteside, with a youth-based makeover most likely to then follow.
Luxury tax
While championship contention has been the overriding goal for years, there also has been ongoing concern about the ramifications of remaining in the luxury tax and paying the “repeater” tax.
With a Bosh absence, it could turn the priority to getting belowthe luxury tax for this season and resetting the NBA luxury-tax clock. There would appear little reason to pay an exorbitant tax while merely fighting for playoff survival.
Indeed, that proved to be the case with both of the Heat’s trades this season, deals that sent Mario Chalmers and then, on Tuesday, Chris Andersen to the Memphis Grizzlies.
TheHeat are $3.5 million above the2015-16luxury-tax threshold, with a follow-up move to the Chris “Birdman” Andersen trade now all but inevitable.
Draft obligation
Last year, once Bosh was lost, theHeat salvaged their draft pick by winding up as theNo.10seed inthe lottery.
This season, the obligation to the Philadelphia 76ers is the same: Unless the Heat wind up with one of the first 10 picks in the NBA Draft, the selection for 2016 goes to the 76ers (to complete the 2010 sign-andtrade agreement with the Cleveland Cavaliers for LeBron James). Should the Heat not forward the owed first-round pick this year, it would go to the 76ers completely unprotected next year, even if the lottery resultwould leave it atNo. 1.
For the Heat, it presents the dilemma of dipping back into the lottery to preserve the 2016 pick and risking losing an unprotected picknext season, or pushing for a playoff berth to ease the sting of forwarding the first-rounder.
Salary cap
Because of the timing of this episode, there can be no salary-cap relief or exception for this season, no disabledexception to utilize.
Should Bosh’s situation turn into the worst case of retirement, the Heat would not receive salary-cap relief for one year, until the oneyear anniversary of such an announcement. Thatmeans the Heat would have to carry Bosh’s full $23.7 million 2016-17 salary on their salary cap through the 2016 offseason free-agency and trading period.
Should Bosh be unable to continue his career, he would still receive the balance on his contract, which runs through 2018-19.