When the offseason begins, the Miami Heat will have multiple decisions to make.

Will they re-sign free agent James Jones, who will likely command a much higher salary? Should it still exist post-lockout, who will they sign with the mid-level exception?

Another decision is at the point guard position. Both Mario Chalmers and Mike Bibby, both of whom started and came off the bench at various points throughout the season and the playoffs, will become free agents.

After acquiring rookie point guard Norris Cole in the 2011 NBA Draft, a player they were very high on, the Heat no longer need both Chalmers and Bibby. Pat Riley himself has said that the Heat had Cole ranked above many other point guards in the draft, including Jimmer Fredette, Iman Shumpert, Nolan Smith and Reggie Jackson.

The question is: Who should they re-sign? The young, former All-Rookie Second Team Mario Chalmers, or the established veteran Mike Bibby?

Based on talent alone, Chalmers would seem to be the better option by a large margin. He constantly outperformed Bibby last season, especially in the postseason.

Chalmers shot a career postseason-high .381 clip from beyond the arc in the playoffs while also scoring more than double what Bibby averaged in only four more minutes per game.

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Bibby, meanwhile, shot .258 from behind the three-point line in the playoffs, and as a player who was brought in primarily for three-point shooting, the Miami Heat must have been disappointed with his play. It also doesn't help his standing with the team that he is a poor defender and a sub-par playmaker, whereas Chalmers is still young with much more untapped potential.

However, the problem with Chalmers lies in his restricted free agency. As a better and more valuable player than Bibby, Chalmers will likely field offers from multiple teams around the league—almost definitely more than Bibby will entertain.

As a team with limited financial flexibility, the Heat will not want to spend too much on Chalmers, especially when they already have a young point guard in the aforementioned Norris Cole.

As a matter of fact, Bibby may be a better fit with Cole. Having two young point guards develop alongside each other (as would be the case with Cole and Chalmers) could be detrimental to both players' growth, whereas Bibby's veteran presence will actually help to further Cole's.

Despite that, the Heat's preference will more likely than not be Chalmers. With that said, however, I doubt they will match the large contract offers that will inevitably be tossed at Chalmers after coming up big in the postseason.

Ultimately, the decision between Bibby and Chalmers will boil down to the money. If the Heat can snag Chalmers for a low price, they will. Otherwise, they will likely retain Bibby (someone they can probably re-sign for the veteran's minimum), and hope that he will have a bounce-back season in his first full season as a member of the Heat.

Follow Kevin Yeung on Twitter @kevinyeung.