All-Star forward Chris Bosh
The Miami Heat on Wednesday officially confirmed the re-signing of nine-time All-Star forward Chris Bosh, nearly three weeks after the move had been reported by multiple media outlets.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team, though local media estimate the contract to be worth $118mn over five years.
Bosh had opted out of his previous deal to become a free agent but decided to stay in Miami after the departure of fellow free agent LeBron James, who returned to his home state of Ohio by signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this month.
“Chris Bosh is a two-time NBA champion and one of the most versatile big men in the league,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. “His unique skill set makes him one of the best players in the game today.”
Bosh, 30, averaged 16.2 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Heat last season and, with James and Dwyane Wade, was a member of the team’s so-called ‘Big Three’ who won two NBA titles together.
He initially appeared headed to the Houston Rockets, who had offered him four years and $88mn to join Dwight Howard and James Harden, before the Heat upped the ante after the exit by James and persuaded Bosh to remain in Miami.
Meanwhile, change is coming to the NBA draft lottery, but the team most likely to be impacted if proposed adjustments are implemented is tapping the brakes.
A major overhaul will be voted on by the NBA Board of Governors in October that would balance the odds of landing the top pick to almost every team entered in the lottery process.
ESPN reported the 76ers are strongly opposing that change. Philadelphia unloaded many of its assets last season and posted a 19-63 record but still wound up drafting third overall behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks. The season included a 26-game losing streak, but it was the Bucks who posted the worst record in the league.
To prevent teams from tanking as a means for improving chances at the highest picks in the next draft, commissioner Adam Silver is on board with giving the four or five worst teams equal chances at the No. 1 overall pick and only slightly reducing the probability any team that finishes with the fifth-worst through 14th-worst final record can also score the first pick.
Restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe and the Phoenix Suns are no closer to a contract, and the gap between the sides could be expanding.
The Suns offered Bledsoe a four-year, $48mn contract, but he is holding out for something closer to the $80mn maximum-level payday.
The Sacramento Kings sign forward/center Eric Moreland to a contract. Terms were not disclosed.
Moreland was a two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive honorable mention player for Oregon State who led all players during the NBA Summer League with 16 blocks while averaging 3.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 2.7 blocks in coming off the bench playing as a reserve.