NBA Trade Rumors: Analyzing Buzz on Potential Mario Chalmers Swap
The NBA trade market has been somewhat docile so far, but it may spark to life after ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported on Tuesday that the Memphis Grizzlies have talked to the Miami Heat about a possible Mario Chalmers trade.
Stein emphasized discussions remain in the preliminary stage, so a potential deal remains far from completion.
Any hesitation to execute the trade probably won't come from Miami. According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Heat have tried to offload Chalmers dating back to the end of last year. Jackson cited a strong financial motivation for the reasoning behind Miami's desire to move the veteran point guard:
The addition of Goran Dragic has undoubtedly pushed Chalmers into a backup role, thus making him more expendable. Without Chalmers, the Heat wouldn't be a demonstrably worse team, especially with Tyler Johnson looking like a capable NBA guard.
Still, Ethan J. Skolnick of the Miami Herald wonders whether trading Chalmers sends the right message for the Heat:
"The Heat shouldn't be seen as skimping, not while also talking about contending. It certainly won't be pleasing or motivating to the players who remain around. Many on the team at the time weren't pleased when Mike Miller was amnestied after the 2013 championship, followed by the dumping of Joel Anthony during the 2013-14 season; the latter prompted shutdown mode against Washington that night.
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Many made the same argument during the Heat's protracted negotiations with Dwyane Wade on a new deal.
On one hand, you could understand why Miami would hesitate to offer a big contract to Wade given his injury issues. At the same time, Wade gave up cash in order to accommodate Chris Bosh and LeBron James and has done countless else to help the organization.
Unceremoniously dumping one of the team's biggest legends wouldn't have made the Heat look good to prospective free agents.
And just look at how much Miller's departure played at least a small part in LeBron James leaving for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"LeBron thought it was an unnecessary change," Miller told Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group in September 2014. "It was difficult for all of us. It was difficult for me. I had to uproot my family and move again. It was tough. I think he was disappointed because he understands legacies and he understands what he wants to do in life. That's what makes him special."
Keeping Chalmers might hurt team owner Micky Arison financially in the short term, but the benefits in the long term would ultimately outweigh the negatives.
From a Grizzlies perspective, this trade is equally as confusing. Chalmers would give Memphis another shooter, but he's not such a tremendous talent that he could transform the team offensively. The same problems that existed before Chalmers would still exist after Chalmers.
We're not talking about the Grizzlies going after Kyle Korver.
Memphis is a bit like the Atlanta Hawks from a few years ago—good enough to make the playoffs but not a viable title contender. The Grizzlies advanced to the conference finals once in the last five years and got swept by the San Antonio Spurs in that lone appearance.
And CBSSports.com's Matt Moore highlighted the inherent problem holding the Grizzlies back in terms of radically altering their fortunes:
The fanbase would be up in arms if the team traded Zach Randolph, but that's the only move Memphis could make that would truly affect change. The Grizzlies might miss the playoffs for a year or two without Randolph, but they'd be set up to truly contend down the road.
Maybe adding Chalmers results in another two or three wins for Memphis, but it would still be a team with a definite ceiling. Running into the Spurs, Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder or Los Angeles Clippers in the playoffs would end the Grizzlies' title aspirations.
If general manager Chris Wallace wants to shake things up, acquiring a player like Chalmers isn't going to achieve that aim.
