Chris Bosh sat out the entire 2016-2017 NBA season, even though he insisted that he was well enough to play. He also sat out the second half of last season, having not played in a game since February of 2016. The Miami Heat, who wish to waive Chris Bosh, have insisted that his blood clot condition is career-ending. The issue went to the NBA for a ruling, as the team would like to free his salary from their cap.
Multiple reports came out this afternoon from The Miami Sun-Sentinel and the Palm Beach Post. Those reports assert that a doctor with a joint mandate from the NBA and NBPA had confirmed that Bosh’s blood clot issues constitute a career-ending injury.
The Miami Heat are now free to waive Bosh, although they’ll still owe him the remaining $52 million dollars of his contract.
I’m not a contract or collective bargaining guy. I like and support them. I just don’t understand them. I’m going to report what I know, but if you have question, you’ll need to talk to Tommy. That’s his thing.
My understanding is that the reason behind the delay in Bosh’s release is the new NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement doesn’t kick in until the end of this month. The old collective bargaining agreement (CBA) would penalize the Miami Heat’s salary cap if Chris Bosh returned to basketball and played 25 games (or more) for a different NBA team.
It appears the two are bidding their time until the new collective bargaining agreement takes place at the end of June. There’s a section of the new CBA that both sides believe favorable resolves Bosh’s situation.
However, should Bosh choose to return to the NBA, which he insists he will, he would be grandfathered in under the old CBA’s rule on returns. Confusing right? The new CBA requires that players who receive the career-ending injury designation wait up to 9 months before returning to the NBA.
Now, it’s not just smooth sailing for Bosh, in order to return to the court, he’d need to be cleared by a panel made up of doctors selected by the NBA and the NBPA. The same doctors that just deemed his condition career-ending.
We wish you well, Chris Bosh.
*Main image courtesy of SportsFanJournal.com