Chris Bosh has been offered a max deal from the Houston Rockets, but reports say he is still leaning toward a return to the Miami Heat.
The Rockets have emerged as serious bidders to win Bosh away in free agency and have offered a four-year, $88 million deal to him. Bosh is said to be giving the offer some consideration, but sources close to the team said his preference remains to return to the Miami Heat along with LeBron James.
Bosh is reportedly waiting on James before making his own move. If LeBron comes back to the Heat, Bosh is expected to follow suit. But if LeBron picks elsewhere, it’s not known exactly what will happen with Chris Bosh.
Quote attributed to me on @Foxsports1 feed bit of context: Bosh’s preference remains with LeBron in Miami, but he’s open to Houston offer.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 8, 2014
Reports from Miami Heat beat writers indicate that Chris Bosh wants to return and is even willing to accept something of a pay cut from the Heat if they can keep the Big Three together.
For all the Chris Bosh reports out there, I keep checking back and keep hearing same: he intends to be in Miami.
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) July 7, 2014
But the offer the Miami Heat reportedly made is much lower than expected, and the low-balling has him considering Houston’s offer.
The move signals a desire by the Houston Rockets to make a splash in free agency. The team also made a max offer to Carmelo Anthony, but they have come to believe he is not interested. The Rockets recently traded Omer Asik to the New Orleans Pelicans and are trying to trade guard Jeremy Lin to free up even more cap space.
It’s likely that the Chris Bosh rumors won’t be cleared up until LeBron James makes a decision. Sources have indicated that James is seriously considering an offer to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he hasn’t made any public statements about when he will announce the decision.