Heat waive Chris Bosh and announce they'll retire his jersey

Following much speculation over the last year, the Miami Heat have finally come to a decision on the future of former All-Star forward Chris Bosh.

The Heat on Tuesday afternoon announced that they have chosen to waive Bosh and will retire his jersey.

“Chris changed his life and basketball career when he came to Miami,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “And he changed our lives for the better, in a way we never would have imagined, when he joined the Miami HEAT. We will forever be indebted to CB for how he changed this team and led us to four trips to the NBA Finals and two NBA Championships. He is, without a doubt, one of the greatest players in the history of the franchise. The number “1” will never be worn by another player and we can't wait to someday hang his jersey in the rafters. Today, we are both moving on but we wish Chris, Adrienne and their family nothing but the best. They will forever be part of the Miami HEAT family.”

Bosh had much success in six seasons with the franchise helping them reach four straight NBA Finals appearances including winning a pair of NBA titles. He played in 384 games with the team where he averaged 18.0 points while shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from beyond the arc along with 7.3 rebounds per game.

The decision to part ways with Bosh had become expected as the 33-year-old struggled to get medical clearance following the appearance of a second blood clot. Despite that, he has stayed the course in his hopes of being able to get cleared to play again.

However, this is a strong indication that the team doesn't believe he will be able to play again as last month a panel of independent Fitness to Play doctors ruled Bosh out with a career-ending illness. He will still be paid the remaining $52.1 million in salary that was due to him over the next two years. The contract was recently ruled by the league that it wouldn't count against the cap because of the situation.

With this all sorted out, it will be interesting to see what course of action Bosh will take next.