NBA Trade Rumors: Chris Bosh To Suns, Eric Bledsoe To Heat

The drama between the Miami Heat and Chris Bosh has been ongoing for the better part of two years. NBA trade rumors are hovering around Bosh as the Heat ponder their options in an attempt to resolve the standoff between the team and their star big man.

According to iSports Times, the Heat and Suns are considering a deal that would send Bosh to Phoenix in exchange for Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe. NBA trade rumors involving Bosh have gained steam in recent days, but Bledsoe has also been mentioned in the off-season trade rumor mill, so it appears that both teams are open to a deal.

The Heat and Chris Bosh have been at odds ever since Bosh was diagnosed with blood clots in early 2015. His medical condition caused him to miss nearly half the season in 2015-16, and when the blood clots returned the following year, Bosh once again had to sit out almost half the season. The team reevaluated the situation going into the 2016 NBA Playoffs but decided not to risk playing Bosh since he was not completely healthy and continued to take blood-thinning medication that was prescribed to treat his condition.

Chris Bosh has felt for some time that he is ready and able to play, but the Miami Heat organization is taking a cautious approach to his status. Not only are they concerned about his long-term health, but they would also be liable if Bosh experiences any complications that could have been avoided had he remained sidelined. One solution to the tug of war between Bosh and the Heat is to trade him to a team who is willing to put him back on the court; Bosh would be allowed to return to NBA action, while Miami would be fixing things on their end by handing the problem off to someone else.

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The Phoenix Suns have some issues of their own, although they are certainly not as complex as the Heat’s stalemate with Chris Bosh. Phoenix would seem to prefer Brandon Knight as their starting point guard rather than Eric Bledsoe. There has been some thought that the Suns might move Bledsoe to shooting guard, but that would slow the development of second-year man Devin Booker, who the Suns are very high on. Bledsoe is a good player, but he appears to be the odd man out in the Phoenix backcourt.

If this deal were to go through, Bledsoe’s fit in Miami seems a bit shaky. The Heat already have Goran Dragic to man the point guard spot, so trading Bosh for a probable backup point guard would seem foolhardy. Like the Suns, the Heat could consider moving Bledsoe to shooting guard, but he has never played that position in the NBA. Bledsoe lacks the size and shooting range that are typically required to be successful at that spot, so that experiment may fail if it is undertaken.

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Miami does not currently have a star at the “two” spot, but they do have a pair of young players that they are committed to in Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson, as detailed by CBS Sports. It is doubtful that the Heat would choose to acquire Eric Bledsoe to compete for minutes in the backcourt if the cost was Chris Bosh. The team might be weary of dealing with Bosh’s health concerns, but they would likely hold onto him and let this play out rather than make a questionable trade just to eliminate the potential issues with their star power forward.

Chris Bosh would be a good fit in the Phoenix Suns lineup, assuming he is healthy. They have two very young and inexperienced players at power forward (Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender), so Bosh would start at the “four” position while serving as a mentor for the Suns’ teenage frontcourt duo. Despite the fact that this NBA trade rumor appears to favor Phoenix, the Suns may not want to pull the trigger on a risk-laden deal like this that could end up being a complete bust for them. Chris Bosh may never return to his NBA All-Star form, or worse yet, he may not return at all.

The latest NBA trade rumors indicate that Chris Bosh may be heading to a new team soon, as the Miami Heat ponder their alternatives. A Bosh trade may indeed happen, but it probably won’t be a one-for-one swap with Phoenix for Eric Bledsoe.

[Photo by Rick Scuteri/AP Images]