As soon as it became a legitimate possibility that LeBron James was leaving the Miami Heat, most believed that Chris Bosh was going to do the same and sign with the Houston Rockets. With LeBron returning to Cleveland, the Rockets had become a more championship-ready team than the Heat. For Bosh, that was the problem.
During a recent interview with Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, Bosh admitted that he was turned off by the amount of pressure he would have faced if he signed with the Rockets.
“I could see where people would think (Houston is) an attractive site,” he said. “They were trying to win right away. And I was really happy to be touted that I possibly could’ve been out there. But you know, that doesn’t guarantee anything, and I know that. All that guarantees is a bunch of pressure.”
Bosh has already won two championships in Miami. The expectations have been lowered now that LeBron is gone, and anything the Heat do from this point forward is basically a bonus. Plus, I can think of about 30 million reasons Bosh decided to stay in Miami.
“It’s incredibly difficult to win a championship,” Bosh added. “I know that, and I know it’s a whole process.”
Bosh’s family has settled in Miami over the past four years. He’s making a ton of money and has a chance to be more of a focal point in the Heat’s offense now without LeBron. That has already been evident, as he is averaging 19.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game through the early part of the season.
Without Bosh, the Rockets are still one of the better teams in the Western Conference and a definite championship contender. With him, they would have been expected to win it all. That type of championship pressure – and $30 million less — obviously wasn’t appealing to Bosh.
H/T Ball Don’t Lie
