Miami Heat championship team no more: Chris Bosh released as sides officially part ways

The Miami Heat waived forward Chris Bosh on Tuesday and announced the franchise will retire the 11-time All-Star's uniform number.

The move was expected, coming six weeks after Miami, Bosh and the players' union had agreed to a resolution on Bosh's contract status.

The 33-year-old Bosh missed the 2016-17 season after failing a preseason physical. Team doctors refused to clear him after Bosh was forced to miss the second half of the previous two seasons due to blood clots.

Earlier this week, the NBA notified the Heat that the remainder of the salary owed to Bosh -- $52.1 million over two years -- would not count against the team's salary cap, although the standout forward will receive the money.

"Chris changed his life and basketball career when he came to Miami," said Heat President Pat Riley in a statement. "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 last played in a game on Feb. 9, 2016, remaining on the Heat's roster and taking up salary cap space as the sides worked through medical and legal issues. His five-year, $118 million contract runs through the 2018-19 campaign.

The 6-foot-11 Bosh was an All-Star in each of his six seasons in South Beach, helping Miami advance to four consecutive NBA Finals and win back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.

In 13 NBA seasons, seven with the Toronto Raptors and the past six with Miami, Bosh owns averages of 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in 893 career NBA games.

The No. 4 overall pick of Toronto in 2003 out of Georgia Tech, Bosh averaged 19.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in 53 games for the Heat in 2015-16 before the blood clots cut his season short.