The Miami Heat are not working toward Chris Bosh's return to the team, according to president Pat Riley. As the Heat opened training camp on Monday, Riley said Bosh's career with the team is "probably over" after a failed physical last week.
Bosh's last two seasons have been ended prematurely by blood clots. He has been stuck in a stalemate with the franchise since February, when the formation of a blood clot in his calf sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Bosh attempted to come back for the playoffs but the Heat were steadfast in ruling him out.
Bosh decided to take his side of the story public by self-directing a documentary for "Uninterrupted" detailing his struggle to return to basketball. Bosh wants to play on blood thinners, citing NHL players Tomas Fleischmann and Steven Stamkos as athletes who have used the drug to return to their sport. Bosh's quest to return to the court took a blow with his latest failed physical. He has decided not to fight the Heat's decision.
Bosh says he has found doctors who will let him play, but the Heat's medical staff still won't clear him. From his documentary:
"The team doctors, they told me that my season's over, my career is probably over, and yeah, this just happened, this is just how it is. I felt right away that I was written off. It was so just ... you know, put it to [the] side, matter-of-factly. If a doctor tells me, โHey, that's it, this is how it is,' and I don't buy it, I think that I have the right to disagree with you.
"I know inside me I have a lot of talent and a lot of ability and ... I have it, I know I have it. It wasn't a matter of if I'm going to play again, but when. So I took the bull by the horns."
As our Tom Ziller detailed, the Heat would prefer if Bosh medically retires. Bosh would still get the remaining $79 million on his contract from the franchise, but the money would be off the Heat's salary cap as of one year after his final game. Bosh insists he isn't ready to call quits. This is where the standoff has been for months.
"Ethan J. Skolnick โ @EthanJSkolnick
ย Riley on Bosh's career going forward: "I don't know. That's up to him. That's up to the NBA. I can't answer that question."
ย 10:17 PM - 26 Sep 2016"
The 32-year-old Bosh is an 11-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA champion, and Olympic gold medalist.
