Episode 14 of the Sports Betting Tips podcast, featuring veteran NBA journalist Chris Sheridan, is now available on all podcast platforms. This episode features Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinal and former Manhattan coach Bobby Gonzalez.
In this episode, our hosts talk about the Isaiah Austin case, Chris Bosh, the future of the Miami Heat, and more. Listen to the full episode below.
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Isaiah Austin
Austin played college ball at Baylor and was a prized NBA prospect, but doctors diagnosed the 7-foot-1 stretch four with Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue, shortly before the 2014 draft. The NBA symbolically selected Austin between the 15th and 16th picks.
Three years later, however, doctors cleared Austin to play, and he began playing overseas. Due to something called the Chris Bosh Rule, Austin could appeal to play in the NBA.
“(After Bosh) they decided to come up with a three-person medical panel so it wasn’t just a team doctor or NBA doctor that decided if someone was fit to play,” Winderman, who covers the Heat, explained.
Austin could become the first player to go before this panel.
“The greater story is this: whether any team would take the risk of God forbid something going wrong,” Winderman added.
Gonzalez, who has coached Austin, explained that he’s a gifted shot-blocker and outside shooter.
“In this day and age, with the way the league is…he’s probably better for the modern NBA than he would have been 10 years ago,” Gonzalez shared.
Austin had a meeting with his former agent at a doctor at Columbia University, but no one from the Players’ Association was present. Chris says the association now is willing “to go to bat for him,” though that doesn’t guarantee the association is in favor of him playing in the NBA.
Chris Bosh
Our hosts also discuss which team(s) should take a risk on Bosh if he’s able to convince a panel he’s physically capable of playing.
“Obviously it would have to be a contender, because you’re not sitting out two-and-a-half seasons and then coming back to a developmental project,” Winderman explains, adding that Bosh may not fly when he returns.
He doesn’t see Bosh going to the Rockets or Warriors — he calls the Lakers “the perfect situation” for Bosh. Gonzalez also likes the Lakers. But both still question whether any team would be willing to take the risk.
Later in the podcast, our hosts discuss the future of the Miami Heat and whether they can land a star free agent, Hassan Whiteside, Erik Spoelstra, and former NBA players going the international route.
Listen to the full episode by hitting play above, and be sure to subscribe on your podcast platform of choice.
