Mario Chalmers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Heat, Richardson, Taylor, Bynum

July 19th, 2015 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Faced with a luxury tax problem, the Heat have been aggressively trying to deal Mario Chalmers and Shabazz Napier, reports Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. An unidentified GM from another team said Miami’s preference is to deal Chalmers because he is due to make $4.3MM next season. Miami would reportedly settle for a second-round pick — or even less — to get Chalmers’ salary off its books. The GM adds that Chris Andersen is another candidate to be dealt, although the center has not been offered to the GM’s team. He also says the Heat are not trying to trade Josh McRoberts.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Miami will make an offer to Josh Richardson to keep his rights, but may encourage the rookie guard to play overseas, Jackson writes in the same story. Richardson will have to choose whether to seek a spot with a foreign club or try to make the Heat’s roster in training camp. Richardson hasn’t decided if he is willing to spend a year overseas, saying the NBA “has always been my dream; nobody wants to play anywhere else.” The Heat currently have 17 players under contract, stacking the odds against Richardson earning a roster spot.
Former Hornet Jeffery Taylor has been offered a two-year contract by Maccabi of the Israeli Premier League, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. Pick termed the situation a “done deal” if Taylor agrees. Last month, the Hornets decided not to extend a qualifying offer to Taylor, making him an unrestricted free agent. He spent three years in Charlotte, although his second season was cut short by an Achilles tear and the third was interrupted by a 24-game suspension imposed by the league.
Barcelona may offer a contract to former Wizards guard Will Bynum, according to Enea Trapani of Sportando. Bynum spent most of the 2014/15 season in China, but signed with Washington late in the year and appeared in seven games.

Heat Intent On Trading Mario Chalmers

July 13th, 2015 at 4:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat seems anxious to move Mario Chalmers as soon as they can find an amenable deal, a source who’s spoken to the Heat tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The news is no shock, given that a reports both before the draft and just last week indicated that the point guard was on the block, though Heat team president Pat Riley denied the initial report that the team was shopping Chalmers and Chris Andersen.

Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote last week that Chalmers and Andersen were available for virtually nothing as the Heat sought to reduce their tax bill. Only the team’s roster at the end of the regular season counts for luxury tax purposes, as Jackson notes, but Miami apparently isn’t in a mood to wait around as it faces the prospect of paying repeat-offender tax penalties should it still exceed the $84.74MM tax threshold at season’s end. The Heat have $92MM on the books as it stands.

Chalmers is set to make $4.3MM this season, the last on a two-year deal he signed with Miami last summer. The 29-year-old has experience as the starting point guard on back-to-back championship teams, though he’s in line to back up Goran Dragic now, and the glut of quality point guards around the league makes him a tougher sell than he might otherwise be. It’s unclear if the Heat are just as anxious to unload Andersen’s $5MM salary, though the focus of Jackson’s piece is on point guards, rather than big men like Andersen, so his omission doesn’t necessarily mean Miami is less willing to trade him.

Lowe’s Latest: Heat, West, Aldridge, Suns

July 7th, 2015 at 12:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat have “put out Shabazz Napier feelers” as they seek to maximize their cap flexibility for the summer of 2016, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes within a larger column on free agency. Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen are available “for nothing,” Lowe adds, presumably meaning that the Heat continue to place a priority on clearing their salaries in an effort to avoid repeat-offender luxury tax penalties. Heat president Pat Riley denied a report last month that the team was shopping the pair, who are set to make a combined $9.3MM this coming season, but it sounds as if Miami is at least open to the idea of moving them if another team comes forward with an offer. Miami could simply decline its 2016/17 team option on Napier, worth about $1.35MM, but the team presumably wants to extract more value than that out of last year’s 24th overall pick. Lowe dishes plenty more in his latest must-read column, and we’ll pass along some of the highlights:

David West turned down an extra $4MM or so from the Wizards and about an extra $2MM from the Warriors when he reportedly agreed to sign for the minimum salary with the Spurs, several league sources tell Lowe. That signals that Washington would have spent its $5.464MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level and Golden State would have used its $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level instead of committing part of it to Leandro Barbosa.
The Nuggets tried before the draft to trade the lottery protected 2016 first-round pick it acquired from the Blazers in the Arron Afflalo trade in February, but no one bit, out of fear that the Blazers would lose LaMarcus Aldridge and miss the playoffs two years in a row, Lowe hears. If Portland doesn’t qualify for the postseason in 2016 or 2017, the first-rounder turns into two second-rounders, as RealGM notes.
Aldridge’s interest in the Lakers was serious as free agency began, several sources told Lowe. He took two meetings with the team after the first one apparently didn’t focus enough on basketball for his liking.
Suns owner Robert Sarver is impatient with his team’s playoff drought and has made it clear to the front office that he wants them to be aggressive in free agency, Lowe reports. That explains Phoenix’s pursuit of Aldridge, which had the Suns seemingly co-favorites with the Spurs at one point.
The best information so far indicates that DeMar DeRozan and Chandler Parsons will opt out next summer, Lowe writes, though it’s early.
George Karl loved coaching Kosta Koufos when they were together with the Nuggets, according to Lowe, so Sacramento’s agreement to sign the center leaves the Grantland columnist with the impression that Karl indeed has some degree of sway over Kings personnel.

Heat Shop Mario Chalmers, Chris Andersen?

June 25th, 2015 at 11:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 11:20pm: Heat president Pat Riley says that there is no truth to the reports that the team is shopping Andersen and Chalmers, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets.

8:34pm: Wade and the Heat do not have a meeting scheduled, a source told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, contradicting the previous report. Any meeting with Wade would like come after the start of free agency on July 1 when the Heat could discuss contract parameters with him, the same source informed Winderman.

2:58pm: Wade is angry at the Heat as they draw a hard financial line, and he doesn’t feel like the team regards him as a priority, a friend of his tells Jackson. Associates say the Heat have damaged Wade’s trust in the organization, Jackson also hears.

MONDAY, 12:49pm: The Heat are shopping Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen in an attempt to clear salary that they could use on a new contract for Dwyane Wade, report Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. They’ll meet with Wade within the next week as the June 29th deadline for him to formally decide on his $16.125MM player option looms, Shelburne and Windhorst write. Wade, in addition to apparent mutual interest in the Lakers, is interested in the Clippers, too, and LeBron James has expressed interest in Wade joining the Cavs, but both are extreme long shots to land the shooting guard given their cap constraints, as the ESPN scribes explain.

Anderson is set to make $5MM next season and Chalmers $4.3MM as each enters the final year of his respective contract. Clearing their salaries would help the team afford to keep its starting lineup intact without going over the projected $81.6MM tax line, note Shelburne and Windhorst. Doing so would set up the Heat to pay the stiffer repeat-offender tax penalties at the end of next season if they remain over the tax line come the final day of the regular season. Miami isn’t a taxpayer this season, but repeater penalties come into play when a team pays the tax three out of four seasons.

The Heat and Wade had been discussing a new contract for $10MM for as many as three seasons beyond his current deal, sources told the ESPN scribes. A friend of Wade’s told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald recently that the Heat would like Wade to opt in and sign a deal next summer for $10MM each year for two more seasons. Wade instead prefers to opt out and would welcome $20MM salaries on a new three-year deal, as Jackson also reported.

Wade’s preference remains to stay in Miami, according to Shelburne and Windhorst. That was the case last month when Jackson broke the story that Wade is nonetheless open to leaving the only NBA franchise he’s ever played for. Many league execs believe Wade and the Heat will ultimately resolve their differences, Shelburne and Windhorst write. The Lakers have the cap space to give Wade $20MM a year, but the Heat have Bird rights that would allow them to do so, too. Miami is reportedly planning an offer of less than the max to Goran Dragic, one that would further help the team avoid the tax, or at least pay less of it. Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers and Cavs GM David Griffin have expressed they’re prioritizing new deals with their own marquee free agents, and thus wouldn’t have the cap space necessary to sign Wade for the sort of salary he’d apparently like.

Eastern Notes: Bosh, Celtics, Hornets

June 2nd, 2015 at 7:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Heat had two players who are coming off of surgery resume basketball activities today, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. Forward Chris Bosh participated in court work for the first time since being sidelined since the All-Star break due to blood clots on his lung, working out today with members of the team’s coaching staff, Winderman notes. Also getting back on the court for Miami was guard Mario Chalmers, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee just four days ago, the Sentinel scribe relays.

Here’s more from the East:

The Celtics held workouts today for Andrew Harrison (Kentucky), Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Terry Rozier (Louisville), Josh Richardson (Tennessee), and Corey Walden (Eastern Kentucky), Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com relays (Twitter link).
Former Temple point guard Will Cummings will work out for the Sixers on Wednesday, Marc Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “It’s definitely been a great opportunity for me to get the chance to work out for these NBA teams,” Cummings said. The guard also has workouts scheduled with the Suns and Nets, Narducci adds.
The Hornets will hold workouts on Wednesday for Kendall Gray (Delaware State), D.J. Newbill (Penn State), James Sinclair (Western Carolina), J.J. O’Brien (San Diego State), Antonio Robinson (East Carolina), and Ralston Turner (North Carolina State), the team announced.
Working out for the Wizards today were Dallin Bachynski (Utah), Cummings, Amere May (Delaware State), Jaleel Roberts (UNC Asheville), Marcus Thornton (William and Mary), and D-Leaguer Jarvis Threatt, the team announced.

Southeast Notes: Jefferson, Donovan, Chalmers

April 4th, 2015 at 1:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hornets big man Al Jefferson may be shut down for the remainder of the season due to the difficulties he has been experiencing with his balky right knee, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. Jefferson has had fluid drained from the joint three times in 10 days, Bonnell adds. “He’s dragging his leg around and then you compensate, opening himself up to further injury,” coach Steve Clifford said. “The guy literally couldn’t pivot and turn. I don’t know if he’ll play again. It’s just not fair to him.” It’s unclear if the injury will affect Jefferson’s thinking this summer regarding his player option worth $13.5MM.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Magic should look for a coach with NBA experience rather than try to lure Billy Donovan to leave the college ranks once again, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel opines. With Orlando at a critical juncture in its rebuilding plan, Schmitz believes to attract free agents the team will need a coach who commands immediate respect from veterans.
Heat guard Mario Chalmers is extremely frustrated with his perceived lack of a defined role, Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald writes. “I don’t even really know what my role is on this team anymore,” Chalmers said. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing. A lot of people are out of rhythm, and you really don’t know what’s going to happen — when you’re going to get the ball, when you’re going to shoot it, you just never know. You just got to be ready for everything, I guess.” Chalmers still has one season worth $4.3MM remaining on his current contract.
Lance Stephenson has not played in two of the Hornets‘ last three contests, something that baffles the mercurial swingman, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star writes. “Definitely I’m surprised,” Stephenson said. “I feel like I can help this group but it’s out of my hands and I’m just [trying to] stay ready and stay focused. I’m very frustrated but it’s a part of life and it’s very humbling, but [I’m] just trying to stay focused and positive and whenever my number’s called, just be ready.”

Southeast Notes: Heat, Williams, Rice Jr.

November 20th, 2014 at 6:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Heat are a better team with Dwyane Wade on the court, but him missing time due to a hamstring injury has helped build chemistry amongst the team’s newcomers, Shandel Richardson of The Sun Sentinel writes. “When you don’t have that guy [Wade] on the court, it’s a huge void that you have to fill,” Chris Bosh said. “I think it’s both a good and a bad thing. We want him out there, but at the same time our rookies are gaining a ton of experience and our new guys are gaining a ton of experience. It’s forcing the chemistry to happen a lot sooner.”

Here’s the latest from the Southeast Division:

Heat president Pat Riley deserves credit for taking a chance on signing Shawne Williams, despite some of the criticisms Riley received for fully guaranteeing this season’s salary, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald opines. Williams is rewarding Riley’s faith by averaging 11.4 points and is currently fifth in the league in three-point percentage, bombing away with a 50.9% success rate, notes Jackson.
Glen Rice Jr.‘s D-League assignment by the Wizards has less to do with his verbal outburst directed toward coach Randy Wittman and is more about the player’s overall development, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com writes. With the season underway, there isn’t enough practice time to fully develop younger players like Rice, who hasn’t seen any game action since November 7th, Michael adds.
Despite his lackluster performance during last year’s playoffs, the Heat re-signed Mario Chalmers, but his role and the team’s expectations of him have changed, Surya Fernandez of FOX Sports.com writes. Chalmers had started every game that he’s appeared in the previous three seasons but is now coming off the bench. “That’s a requirement when you have a championship-level team,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “So nobody feels badly for anybody that has to sacrifice when you have an opportunity to be a part of a great team. That’s the hardest part of great teams is getting guys to sacrifice. So now the role has to be a little different with this team. He’s embraced that role and he’s been able to produce in this role. I think some of the experiences he went through the last six years have helped him get to this point.”

Eastern Notes: Allen, Heat, Cavs

October 16th, 2014 at 9:58pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Many around the NBA believe Ray Allen will become a member of the Cavs this season and Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio is among the Cleveland optimists. “My gut tells me he’ll join the Cavs,” Amico said. Cleveland is among the many teams with interest in bringing the shooting guard aboard. Amico also notes that he believes Allen has already decided on whether or not he’ll play this season, and where.

Here’s more from Eastern Conference:

After he struggled last postseason there were doubts the Heat would re-sign Mario Chalmers, but head coach Eric Spoelstra is a firm believer in the point guard, writes Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel. “He’s one of the all-time clutch players in this game,” Spoelstra said. “How many times does he have to prove himself?”
In a separate piece, Richardson documents how the environment around the Heat is changing post-LeBron James. Dwyane Wade couldn’t be happier about the changes. “It’s more relaxed, more chill, an opportunity we can get some work in,” Wade said. “We can actually make some mistakes and not do things as great and not really be talked about as much. We’re a team that needs time individually to get comfortable with whatever roles we’re going to be in. It’s good it’s quiet.”
Although Kevin Love‘s neck injury isn’t believed to be too serious, Jeff Caplan of NBA.com wonders if LeBron’s new teammates can stay healthy. Caplan points out the injury history of Love and Kyrie Irving and notes how crucial it is that the new big three get as much time on the court together as possible
There are Atlantic Division teams that have young players with the potential to improve such as Terrence Ross of the Raptors and Tyler Zeller of the Celtics, writes Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com. Mason Plumlee of the Nets, Iman Shumpert of the Knicks and Michael Carter-Williams of the Sixers are also among the players Tjarks lists as internal improvement candidates for the coming season.

Eastern Rumors: James, Chalmers, Nets, Bosh

September 15th, 2014 at 8:46pm CST by Cray Allred

The Wizards struck a deal with one wing player for training camp, as Xavier Silas has agreed to spend the preseason with Washington for the second year in a row, and the team is nearing a deal with Damion James, another wingman, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post confirms, echoing the report we passed along earlier today from J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Here’s more from the East:

Heat GM Andy Elisburg called Mario Chalmers before he re-signed with the team this summer to assure him that he was still in their plans and that they just needed to see what LeBron James would decide before circling back to them, as Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick writes. Before that, Chalmers had been full of doubt about his free agency, as he tells Skolnick. “I didn’t think I’d be back,” Chalmers said. “I didn’t think that at all. I didn’t even think the Heat would want me back, to be honest. That’s how I felt like my playoff performance was, that they didn’t want me back, they wanted to go another direction. So that was in my mind, too, but I was, like, if it happens, it happens.”
Deron Williams told reporters including Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News that he hasn’t spoken with Jason Kidd since the former Nets coach left Brooklyn for Milwaukee. “I think it surprised everybody,” Williams said. “I don’t think anybody saw that coming. It was out of nowhere. I don’t even know enough about the situation. I’ve heard a lot of things, as you guys probably have, so I don’t know exactly what happened, but we’re excited about Lionel Hollins being our next coach and we wish J-Kidd the best of luck in Milwaukee, but we’re excited about Lionel.”
Hollins told reporters including Tim Bontemps of the New York Post that Kevin Garnett will be the Nets‘ starting power forward this season (Twitter link). All indications have been that the veteran big will play this season, and this should put to bed rumblings of an early retirement for good. The coach said that retirement hasn’t even been a point of discussion with Garnett, tweets Bondy.
In a mailbag answer, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel suggests that the Heat will have overpaid for Chris Bosh if he doesn’t return to the player he was in Toronto. Miami inked Bosh to the second-biggest contract of the summer once LeBron decided to head back to Cleveland.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Heat Notes: LeBron, Bosh, Chalmers, Wade

July 15th, 2014 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls were among the teams with which agent Rich Paul took meetings to discuss LeBron James during the first week of free agency, as Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reveal in a behind-the-scenes look at LeBron’s choice. Regardless, James was no longer willing to accept being underpaid, as Windhorst examines in a separate piece. James decided before free agency began that he’d take a max contract, and no matter where he would end up, he would demand a deal with a player option after year one, Windhorst writes. James wants to continue to sign short-term deals for the foreseeable future to maintain flexibility in case the maximum salary jumps or is eliminated in the next collective bargaining agreement, as Windhorst explains. He also wants to keep the pressure on Cavs brass to improve the team around him, the ESPN scribe adds. Here’s more on the Heat as they pick up the pieces after LeBron’s departure:

It wasn’t merely a two-team race between the Rockets and Heat for Chris Bosh, as the Nuggets, Suns and Lakers all made offers to the No. 3 player in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, reports Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com.
The Heat’s contract with Mario Chalmers calls for him to make $4MM for this coming season and $4.3MM in 2015/16, Windhorst tweets. The ESPN scribe pegs the likely salary for Dwyane Wade at $15MM based on the Heat’s other moves this summer and the cap space the team still has available (Twitter link).
Miami renounced its rights to Ray Allen, Udonis Haslem Michael Beasley, Toney Douglas, James Jones, Rashard Lewis, Greg Oden and the retired Shane Battier and Juwan Howard, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. That’ll make it difficult to re-sign Allen, but the team continues moving toward a new deal with Haslem, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The Heat would likely use either cap space or the $2.732MM room exception on Haslem.