Well, damn. Despite reportedly being close to signing a four year deal with the Rockets today after LeBron James decided to commit to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chris Bosh has opted to stay in Miami, agreeing to a five year, $118 million contract with the team. He will earn more than $30 million extra in the contract he signs with the Heat versus what he could earn in four years with the Rockets.
And there goes the team we were dreaming up all afternoon. Beverley, Harden, Parsons, Bosh, and Howard with Jones coming off the bench promised to be one of the top teams in the conference, and now the Rockets are back at the drawing board. They just surrendered an asset along with Jeremy Lin in order to trade him, and now that that deal is done, Bosh turns around and goes back to Miami? That has to be a huge disappointment for Morey.
The Rockets still have almost two days before they have to decide whether to match Parsons' contract or not and they will spend it making offers to fill out their roster rather than panicking, but this is a huge blow to the Rockets as they have serious championship aspirations with Bosh on the roster. Now, they have no bench, a $45 million sized question mark at small forward, and a lot of questions to answer.
For Daryl Morey, the real work begins now.