Mario Chalmers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Re-Sign Mario Chalmers

July 14th, 2014 at 2:00pm CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 2:00pm: The deal is official, the Heat announced.

“It’s great to have Mario back,” team president Pat Riley said in the team’s statement. “We’re happy that he wants to continue his career in Miami, he’s one of our core players, and I believe he will have a great season.”

SUNDAY, 10:50pm: It’s a two-year, $8MM+ deal, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (via Twitter).

5:11pm: The Heat will re-sign Mario Chalmers to a two-year deal, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Terms of the deal are not yet known for the Sam Goldfeder client.

LeBron James, who affectionately referred to Chalmers as “‘Rio”, is gone, but the Heat appear to be on their way to keeping the rest of their core in place. Chalmers is back on a two-year deal, Bosh will re-sign on a max deal, and Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem are close to new contracts in Miami.

The Heat were said to be considering sign-and-trade possibilities for Chalmers last week. The 28-year-old struggled mightily in the playoffs, averaging only 6.4 points per contest, and was benched for the team’s final postseason game. It was the first time he didn’t start for the Heat in the past three seasons, and he recorded a career-high 14.0 PER this past year during the regular season. He tied his career mark with 4.9 assists per game, and his 9.8 PPG approached his best, too.

Eastern Rumors: Knicks, Miller, Deng, Ariza

July 12th, 2014 at 9:32pm CST by Cray Allred

With Carmelo Anthony set to re-sign with the Knicks, New York can now focus on setting up a supporting cast to play alongside him. One name they’re interested in re-signing is Toure’ Murry, tweets Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal. Here’s more from around the East:

Phil Jackson is said to be willing to include Iman Shumpert as part of a deal to dump the contracts of Amar’e Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani, or J.R. Smith, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
There is a gap between what the Cavs can offer and what Mike Miller is seeking, but not enough to end their talks, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
In contrast to an earlier report of the Hornets interest in Lance Stephenson, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets that Charlotte has shown no such signs.
The Heat are now open to bringing free agent Mario Chalmers back at the right price, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinal. Miami drafted point guard Shabazz Napier, and was reportedly looking to sign-and-trade Chalmers before LeBron James elected to take his talents away from South Beach.
The Hawks have re-engaged talks with Luol Deng, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. We heard earlier that the two sides had reached an impasse on salary for the veteran small forward.
Kent Bazemore was in contract discussions with the Lakers when he agreed to join the Hawks, but Atlanta’s urgency precluded Los Angeles from re-signing the guard on their time table, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Trevor Ariza received the same offer from the Wizards as he agreed to with the Rockets, but the difference in taxes between Washington and Houston will save him approximately $3MM, tweets Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
Ariza asked for an annual salary of $10MM to stay with the Wizards, sources tell J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Michael says that Washington declined to meet Ariza’s demands in order to maintain cap space in 2016, when Kevin Durant will become a free agent.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Heat Considering Mario Chalmers Sign-And-Trade

July 9th, 2014 at 9:10am CST by Chuck Myron

Miami has explored the possibility of sending Mario Chalmers out in a sign-and-trade to add more talent, sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The Heat are meeting with LeBron James today after agreeing to deals with Josh McRoberts for the value of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception and Danny Granger for the equivalent of the bi-annual exception.

Chalmers, 28, struggled mightily in the playoffs, averaging only 6.4 points per contest, and was benched for the team’s final postseason game. It was the first time he didn’t start for the Heat in the past three seasons, and he recorded a career-high 14.0 PER this past year during the regular season. He tied his career mark with 4.9 assists per game, and his 9.8 PPG approached his best, too.

The Sam Goldfeder client has expressed interest in returning to Miami for next season. Still, the Heat made a run at Kyle Lowry before he re-signed with the Raptors, and the club apparently envisions bringing in someone new to play his role. Chalmers would have to agree to go elsewhere in any sign-and-trade, though the Heat could attempt to force his hand and decline to make an offer for him to stay.

LeBron James Increasingly Mulling Cavs Return

July 7th, 2014 at 8:20am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James is thinking more and more about the Cavs as he decides where to sign, sources tell Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Cleveland’s brass is confident that James is receptive to the pitch they made to agent Rich Paul last week, as the ESPN scribes detail. Still, the player atop our 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings harbors lingering ill feelings over Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s reaction to his 2010 departure, despite a degree of reconciliation between the two as time has passed, according to Windhorst and Stein.

The Cavs are centering their case for LeBron on their capability for growth and improvement not just this summer but in years to come, with as many as three first-round picks in 2015 and young, team-controlled talent, like Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins, Windhorst and Stein write. Cleveland is planning to point to Brendan Haywood‘s contract as another of their weapons, as the ESPN duo explains. Haywood, who’s headed to Cleveland via trade, has a salary of more than $2.2MM for 2014/15, but the final season of his contract is a non-guaranteed salary of more than $10.5MM, a vestige of Haywood having been claimed off amnesty waivers in 2012. That bloated non-guaranteed salary makes Haywood’s deal a valuable expiring contract this coming season or, as Windhorst and Stein point out, a weapon for a sign-and-trade next summer.

The Cavs don’t possess the cap flexibility to give James a max contract as their books currently stand. Rather than waiving Anderson Varejao‘s partially guaranteed contract to create the necessary cap space, they prefer to deal Jarrett Jack, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported Sunday. They have a deal in place to trade Jack to the Nets provided the teams can find a third club willing to absorb Marcus Thornton, according to other reports.

Heat president Pat Riley will reportedly meet this week with James in an effort to keep him in Miami. The Heat have eyed significant free agents along the lines of Marcin Gortat, Kyle Lowry, Luol Deng and even Carmelo Anthony, but they don’t think they need to add a star to convince James, Wade and Bosh to re-sign, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Instead, they’re merely looking for upgrades in the roles that Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem and Shane Battier have played in the past few years, Deveney writes.

Eastern Rumors: ‘Melo, Fisher, Cavs, Chalmers

June 16th, 2014 at 2:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat won their fourth straight Eastern Conference championship this year, but like the last team to pull that off, the 1986/87 Celtics, they fell short of an NBA title. Miami certainly hopes it doesn’t repeat the fate that befell Boston, which failed to win another Eastern Conference title for 21 years after that. Here’s the latest from the East:

Carmelo Anthony would prefer to stay in New York, but he knows his best chance to win would be to leave, a source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. ‘Melo is reportedly leaning toward signing with a team other than the Knicks this summer.
Derek Fisher‘s contract to coach the Knicks runs for four years instead of five, as had been initially reported, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Another report indicated the deal contains at least one team option, so perhaps it’s guaranteed for four seasons with a team option for the fifth, though that’s just my speculation.
It’s logical to suspect that David Blatt would prefer a head coaching job to an assistant’s post, but it seems he won’t wait around on the Cavs opening if they dally, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports explains. The Warriors and some close to the former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach believe that he’ll accept a job on Steve Kerr‘s Golden State staff if Cleveland doesn’t move quickly to hire him after its face-to-face interview with him this week, Wojnarowski hears.
The Cavs continue to pursue high-profile college coaches behind the scenes, Wojnarowski also writes in the same piece.
The Heat benched the slumping Mario Chalmers in Game 5, but the soon-to-be free agent hasn’t soured on Miami, as he tells fellow Yahoo! Sports scribe Marc J. Spears. “I hope we stay together,” Chalmers said. “I think we have a good thing going.”

Southeast Notes: Chalmers, Oden, Hornets

June 11th, 2014 at 6:00pm CST by Charlie Adams

Mario Chalmers has struggled mightily for the Heat lately, but he doesn’t attribute his on-court woes to his looming free agency, reports Sean Deveney of Sporting News. “I am not even thinking about that,” Chalmers said today. “Whatever happens this summer, happens.” Here’s more on Miami and the Southeast:

The Heat are expected to work out Kyle Anderson, C.J. Wilcox, Joe Harris, Jordan Bachynski and Markel Brown, a source tells Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link).
Greg Oden admits he was disappointed at his lack of playing time for the Heat this season, but it won’t discourage him from signing a new contract this summer, be it with Miami or another club, passes along Chris Haynes of Comcast Sportsnet.
Jeff Adrien, whom Charlotte dealt to the Bucks at the trade deadline this year, joined several Hornets veterans for a workout in Charlotte today, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Adrien becomes an unrestricted free agent in July.
Shabazz Napier and Elfrid Payton auditioned for the Magic today, according to Scotto (Twitter link). Isaiah Sykes also worked out for the club, as Sykes revealed via Twitter (hat tip to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel).
The Wizards will bring in Billy Baron, Jerrelle Benimon, Justin Cobbs, Josh Huestis, Lamar Patterson, and Davon Usher, the team announced.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southeast Notes: Muscala, Thomas, Chalmers

February 24th, 2014 at 5:05pm CST by Zachary Links

The Hawks put in a call last week to Obradoiro of Spain about Mike Muscala, whose NBA rights belong to Atlanta, reports Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype. Still, the Hawks made no offer for the 44th overall pick from the 2013 draft, Sierra notes, adding that Obradoiro has rejected entreaties from other European clubs for the center from Bucknell (Twitter links). More out of the Southeast..

Tyrus Thomas is not an option for the Wizards due to a back injury, a person close to the situation tells J. Michael of CSNWashington.com (on Twitter). Besides, it looks like Washington has their eye on another 2013 amnesty victim in Drew Gooden.
Mario Chalmers, a free agent this summer, says that he’s more comfortable than ever with the Heat, writes Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel.
A fun fact courtesy of Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (on Twitter): the Magic haven’t signed anyone to a 10-day contract since the team signed Seton Hall product Andre Barrett on March 31, 2005.

Heat Exercise Option On Mario Chalmers

June 26th, 2013 at 4:32pm CST by Luke Adams

4:32pm: The Heat have officially picked up their option on Chalmers, according to a press release from the team.

11:27am: The Heat will exercise their option to bring back Mario Chalmers for the 2013/14 season, team president Pat Riley confirmed today to reporters, including Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Twitter link). Once the club formally picks up the option, Chalmers will be in line for a guaranteed $4MM salary in the final year of his contract.

Word came in yesterday that James Jones and Rashard Lewis have exercised their respective player options, so with Chalmers on board as well, that ensures that 12 members of this year's NBA champions remain under contract for next season. Ray Allen has a player option to decide on, while Chris Andersen and Juwan Howard will be unrestricted free agents.

Riley addressed Allen's and Andersen's situations, telling reporters that the team loves the Birdman and would like to have him back next year (Twitter link). Riley also confessed he doesn't know what Allen will decide, indicating the club will have to wait until the end of the week to find out, though he hopes the veteran sharpshooter will return (Twitter link).

Speaking generally about free agency, Riley downplayed the likelihood of the Heat being too involved, or even using their mini mid-level exception, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). The team is more likely to try to "cannibalize the market" in August and September, says Riley (Twitter link via Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald). The team president also suggested that the Heat are unlikely to amnesty Mike Miller this summer, according to Tomasson (Twitter link).

Heat ‘Feverishly’ Pursued Trade For Nikola Vucevic

March 6th, 2013 at 10:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nikola Vucevic gives the Heat fits, having twice gone for at least 20 points and 20 rebounds against the team after tonight's 25-point, 21-board performance. The second-year Magic center could have been putting up those numbers for the Heat instead of against them if Miami had been willing to part with either Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, or both, according to John Denton of Magic.com (Twitter link). Denton tweets that the Heat were "feverishly" trying to trade for Vucevic when he was with the Sixers last season, but apparently they weren't willing to give up their top two point guards to make it happen.

The Sixers dealt Vucevic to the Magic in August as part of the four-team Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum blockbuster. The 22-year-old native of Switzerland has blossomed in Orlando, where he averages 12.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game as the starting center. He's seeing twice as many minutes per game as he did last year with Philadelphia, which made him the 16th overall pick in the 2011 draft. Vucevic saw even less time in the playoffs, notching just three minutes during the Sixers' run to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Heat had evidently seen enough to believe he could address their deficiencies in the paint. Miami has grabbed the fewest rebounds of any team in the league, and certainly the addition of Vucevic would have helped remedy that. Money likely wasn't an inhibiting factor for the Heat, since he's on a rookie-scale contract that pays him just $1.7MM this season. Still, Heat president Pat Riley and the rest of the team's front office probably didn't predict Vucevic would develop as well and as quickly as he has. If they had foreseen it, they might have had pause about dealing away both of their top two point guards, though they're apparently confident enough in the ballhandling abilities of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James to go without a third point guard this season.

Heat Unlikely To Make Deadline Move

February 16th, 2013 at 10:14am CST by Sean Highkin

The Miami Heat are unlikely to make a trade before Thursday's deadline, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Pat Riley has a history of making splashy moves at the deadline, dating back to the mid-1990s when he acquired Tim Hardaway and Jamal Mashburn. But Winderman writes that these moves have decreased in recent years, and there isn't any indication that he will make a move before Thursday.

Winderman writes that the most attractive trade asset the Heat have is the Sixers' lottery-protected 2013 first-round pick, acquired for the rights to Arnett Moultrie in June of 2012. Joel Anthony and Mike Miller are unlikely to be moved due to their contracts, and Winderman notes that Miller is very likely to be waived via the amnesty clause this summer. Mario Chalmers could be moved, but Winderman does not believe there is a deal out there for the point guard that the team must make.