Will Miami Heat Trade Mario Chalmers?

To date, there is no team showing serious interest on 29-year-old Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers which could pose a big problem for the squad who are trying to make ends meet but most of all avoid hefty fines.

The Heat could find itself being penalized with the repeat offender penalty which means they could be facing a tax bill worth around $44 million.

To avoid all that, the Heat may have to unload a couple of players and for NBA fans, it is common knowledge that two players that are strongly believed to be on the trading block are old hands Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen.

Of the two, Chalmers is seen as someone who could gain more interest. He is just 29 years old and has proven that he can size up against other guards in the NBA. He showed what he can do when he helped out the Miami Heat during the 2012 and 2013 championship years.

However, Chalmers’ performance plummeted after that. He ended up coming off the bench and the coming of Goran Dragic made things even worse.

Despite the demotion, Chalmers is still seen as someone who could provide big help for other teams. He has the championship experience and has proven to be a reliable playmaker and scorer, depending on a team’s needs.

Apparently, this is one reason the Heat have momentarily put trade talks on hold. According to the Miami Herald, the Heat will take a long look at Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson in training camp and more or less gauge from there if either would do instead of Chalmers.

Could this be for real or a ploy? There are some who feel that the temporary recall of Chalmers is a reverse psychology tactic. With no team showing interest in the guard, such could work but there are some who show some reservations on how such could impact someone like Chalmers.

Regardless, the fact remains that for Chalmers to stay, the Heat or any other team would have to be ready to pay his $4.3 million salary for the coming season.

With Dragic and Dwyane Wade expected to eat up a lot of the minutes in the backcourt, Chalmers could find himself coming off the bench unless head coach Erik Spoelstra opts to go with his new guards.

It would not be surprising to see Chalmers ending up wearing a new uniform though it could come after the NBA opening at the rate things are going.

Among the teams seen as a fit for him include the New York Knicks, Memphis Grizzlies or the Utah Jazz, teams which could use a veteran guard like Chalmers.