Chris Bosh's Situation

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/

With one night of the NBA regular season in the books now, it is the time to round up my final prediction. This prediction however does not pertain to awards, standings, or anything like that. This all revolves around Chris Bosh's health.

Chris Bosh had a physical a couple of weeks ago to evaluate his blood clots. Unfortunately Bosh failed his physical and will not be playing basketball anytime soon. With that said it is obvious that the Heat do not want Bosh to come back this season. The Heat's goal is to get to February without Bosh playing a single minute. If this is done the Heat do not have to pay Bosh's salary this season and will receive insurance on the rest of Bosh's contract if they decide to release him. That is not the end goal though. If the Heat can they want to keep Bosh sidelined and on their roster until March. If the Heat can do this Bosh's contract will not count against their cap this year. In the end this would lower the Heat's luxury tax.

The truth is this would help the Heat, but in the end makes them look bad. It makes them look bad in the sense that they are doing nothing to try to get Bosh back on the floor this season. It seems as if Bosh and his contract have become a burden and the Heat just want to get rid of both.

Here is where things should get interesting. I think that the NBPA will get involved in Bosh's case sooner or later. Bosh has repeatedly said he is ready to return and that he won't stop until he does. If the NBPA gets involved they could run separate tests from the Miami Heat doctors to determine Bosh's situation. If the NBPA can determine Bosh healthy the Heat will either let him play or, the more likely option, discuss a buyout. When this happens Bosh will be free to choose any team he'd like to join.

Jim Rassol/Sun Sentinel

The reason it is so controversial that Bosh isn't released from the team until March is his eligibility. If Bosh is still on the Heat roster in March he will not be eligible to sign with a playoff team. This is important to Bosh since he is getting to the later stages of his career. At this point he is looking for more championships to add to his collection. He already received his big contract from the Heat. Even if the Heat work a buyout and a stretch provision with it, he will still be receiving a good portion of his money. He will also be able to sign another contract and have two sources of income.

The bottom line is Bosh wants to play this season. In order for this to become a reality the NBPA will have to step in at some point and help Bosh with his case. Until then the Miami Heat have full control of his situation.