NBA Rumors: Chris Bosh Seeking Max?
Heading into the offseason, it was painfully obvious the Miami Heat needed to retool in order to keep winning titles. The San Antonio Spurs had just embarrassed the Heat in five quick games in the championship series, Dwyane Wade had never looked more hobbled, Chris Bosh disappeared and LeBron James was left staring at a 2-3 Finals record.
The general thinking was the Big Three would need to opt out and take discounts to afford the kinds of free agents they needed to rise to the top of the league once again. But if the latest reports are to be believed, it seems Chris Bosh has joined LeBron James in his alleged quest for a max contract.
According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio, a source with knowledge of Bosh’s thinking called in with the news that Bosh is aiming at a five-year, $90 million deal. The two sides are still working on a deal and no agreement has been reached yet, however.
John Canzano of The Oregonian reported Tuesday that Bosh had agreed in principle to a five-year deal with the Heat that would earn him $11-$12 million in his first year and according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Miami was telling free agents it would have around $12 million in cap space to work with after taking care of the Big Three.
However, those numbers would be half the value of their former contracts and seem far too low for guys like Bosh and Wade. Agent Henry Thomas quickly refuted the notion that his clients would be taking such a significant pay cut in free agency:
Agent Henry Thomas, on report clients Bosh & Wade will take $12M/per & $11M/per, respectively: "all the BS you are reading is just that."
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 1, 2014
The real details are still trickling out, but Ethan Skolnick, a Miami Heat beat reporter for Turner Sports, is also hearing something different on how much money Bosh would make in the first year of a five-year contract:
As I tweeted last night, if Heat gave Bosh 5/90 -- which was request, not agreement -- he would start at 15M w/ raises. Not at 18M.
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) July 2, 2014
After opting out of the final two years of his contract and leaving $42.7 million left on the table, Chris Bosh was expected to take a pay cut to help A) the Big Three stay together or B) get LeBron James the max contract he’s never had but has always deserved.
Bosh could easily command a max offer on the open market, so it’s not too big a surprise if he feels entitled to one. But If he is indeed seeking a max deal as these reports say he is, it’s going to be very interesting to see what the Miami Heat look like next season.