Chris Bosh current health situation has been arguably the Miami Heat's biggest dilemma the past two years. Bosh, who signed a five-year, $118 million deal two summers ago, has been sidelined majority of the past two seasons due to blood clotting.
Pat Riley, the Heat president of Basketball Operation, addressed Bosh's health at a recent press conference. He said the ballclub is looking for ways to speed up the player's return to the court, adding 'the Heat will wait until August or September before they make a decision on his status.'
On the contrary, several league insiders reported that Riley is just waiting for the right opportunity to unload Bosh's still humongous contract. Although the market for Bosh is pretty slim to none, many expect Riley to find ways in getting that big money commitment off the books through a trade or other salary-dump transactions.
Bosh averaged 19.1 points and 7.4 rebounds over 53 games, earning him his 11th All-Star appearance. He shot 46 percent from the field (36 percent from beyond the arc) and started showing the Chris Bosh of old before he caught the injury bug anew.
Dwyane Wade's return:
According to a league source, one of the reasons behind Riley's secret desire to get rid of Bosh is to create enough cap space in the event Dwyane Wade decides to take his talent back to South Beach next season.
The Heat president understands that Wade is basically on a one-year rent with the Bulls despite signing a two-year, $47 million deal (with player's option after the first year.)
Riley believes bringing back Wade will put the Heat in position to be the home of the 'Brotherhood' (Wade, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James) once all cleared of their respective contracts.
If Wade opts out from the second year of his contract with the Bulls, he will join All-Star playmaker Chris Paul in that loaded free-agency pool, while Carmelo Anthony and possibly LeBron James (assuming he signed a one-year deal with the Cavs) could become available as well a year after.
Dion Waiters signing:
To fill Wade's huge void on the roster, Riley signed Dion Waiters on a two-year, $6 million deal. Waiters, who averaged 9.8 points on 39 percent shooting last season, originally received a qualifying offer from the OKC Thunder before it got rescinded largely because of OKC's plan to extend Russell Westbrook's contract.
Although there are still teams capable of presenting more lucrative offers out there, Waiter's decision to pick the Heat stemmed from his desire to have prominent scoring role.
The 4th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft has established a reputation as a volume shooter, though his commitment on the defensive end along with his questionable work ethic have prevented his career to blow up.