Chris Bosh reportedly drawing interest from Bulls if he chooses to play basketball again

Chris Bosh may not play basketball again this season, but in the event he makes a comeback, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reported there is at least one team interested in signing him — the Chicago Bulls.

“If Bosh, who turns 33 in March, makes it back onto the floor next season, word is that the Chicago Bulls are already plotting a run and will be at the front of the line to try to sign him,” Stein writes.

Bosh last played in February 2016 before blood clots ended his season early for the second year in a row, but he still feels he has basketball years left in him.

Miami won’t clear him to play with a life-threatening condition, but the 11-time All-Star is under contract for two more years scheduled to pay him around $52 million following this season.

The Heat can waive Bosh and remove his salary from the cap if they part ways after Feb. 9 — the anniversary of his last game played in Miami — and he doesn’t latch on with another team. But according to Stein, league executives don’t anticipate the Heat moving on from their All-Star power forward until after March 1, the cut-off date for other teams to sign players eligible for postseason play.

In 53 games last year with Miami, Bosh averaged 19.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, shooting 37 percent from downtown. If healthy, several teams could benefit from his services, and the Bulls are one of them. But that’s a big if.

Chicago has had its fair share of point guard problems this season (see: Rajon Rondo benching), but its power forward slot could become a question mark this summer. Taj Gibson becomes an unrestricted free agent and Nikola Mirotic has regressed as a three-point shooter this season.

Acquiring Bosh, provided he’s healthy, would give the Bulls stability at the starting power forward slot and allow coach Fred Hoiberg to use Mirotic as a gunner off the bench. Bosh also won two NBA championships in Miami with Dwyane Wade, who signed with the Chicago in the offseason and could be a free agent again this summer. Reuniting with his old partner would give the soon-to-be 33-year-old forward his best chance at making a title run.

Bulls general manager John Paxson faced a similar health crisis in 2005 when he traded center Eddy Curry after heated arguments over his heart condition.

Curry, who helped the Bulls into the playoffs with 16.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, said he experienced an irregular heartbeat that sidelined him for final 13 games of the season and the playoffs.

Paxson insisted Curry take a DNA test to determine his susceptibility to a potentially fatal heart disorder. The 7’0 big man refused, so the Bulls traded him to the Knicks as part of the deal that landed Tim Thomas.

Bosh has had a more decorated career than Curry, but it wouldn’t make sense for Paxson to take a gamble similar to the one he folded on a decade ago.

Likelihood: 2.5 out of 10. Until we know more about Bosh’s health, we can’t assume any team will actually sign him should he become a free agent.