Written by Michael Wallace at ESPN.com
With training camp scheduled to open in less than a month, Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh has increased his basketball workouts in hopes of returning to the court this season.
Bosh posted a series of workout videos on one of his social media accounts Monday and suggested he’s ready to resume his basketball career after each of his past two seasons were cut short by blood clots.
Bosh, 32, has three seasons and $76 million left on a five-year deal he signed in 2014 to stay in Miami.
“I know I’ve been gone for a moment, but now I’m back,” Bosh, an 11-time All-Star, said in one of the videos posted Monday as he prepared for drills in an undisclosed gym. “Everybody is always asking me, ‘Am I hooping?’ Yes, I’m hooping. I’m a hooper.’ ”
Bosh has been working on his conditioning for several months and had pressured the Heat to allow him to return during last season’s playoffs before the sides agreed to table the discussion until the offseason. Neither Bosh nor the Heat have offered a definitive explanation as to where Bosh is in his recovery from recurring blood clots and whether he will be cleared to return to action next season.
However, the Heat have used Bosh in promotional campaigns for season ticket sales and for an October neutral-site exhibition game in Kansas City. Speaking to reporters last month about the Heat’s free agency developments, president Pat Riley said the team would reevaluate Bosh’s situation at some point in late August or September, presumably before the start of training camp.
A league source told ESPN.com in July that Bosh is preparing to be available when training camp opens on Sept. 27 and expects to be medically cleared to rejoin the team.
If Bosh is cleared to come back, he would be returning to a team that has undergone a major overhaul this offseason. Miami lost franchise pillar Dwyane Wade in free agency to Chicago, and veteran starters Luol Deng and Joe Johnson also departed from a team that lost to Toronto in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Bosh was the Heat’s leading scorer and 3-point shooter when he left the lineup at the February All-Star break last season when he experienced clotting. His season also was cut short the previous February during All-Star break after he was hospitalized for more than a week when clots traveled to his lungs.
If Bosh is unable to resume his career for medical reasons, he would be paid the remainder of his contract but it would not count against the Heat’s salary cap after Feb. 9. Bosh has given no indications that he plans to retire before making at least one more comeback attempt.
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