As he prepared to make a Thursday appearance at a youth basketball camp, Mario Chalmers bumped into former teammate Joel Anthony, who had just addressed the group. As Anthony and Chalmers spoke, a member at the front desk of the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center said to the receptionist, “Joel doesn’t play here anymore. And Chalmers might not, either.”
Welcome to Mario Chalmers’ offseason, where the discussion has been as much about trimming the Miami Heat’s luxury-tax bill with a trade as it has been about how the veteran guard might fit in with a roster that has undergone a dramatic upgrade over the past six months.
“Just see what happens,” Chalmers said matter-of-factly before making an appearance on behalf of the Warren Henry Auto Group at the All-Star Basketball Kids Camp. “I haven’t spoken to anybody. When I had my exit meeting with Pat [Riley], he said the only way he would trade me was if he had to.”
Based on the current roster, Chalmers would slot in as the backup point guard to Goran Dragic, the role he held at the end of last season. At $4.3 million for the coming season, the last on his contract, Chalmers sets up as somewhat of a value option, with a salary below the league average.
The sticking point, of course, is the NBA luxury tax, and the amount of seasons the Heat have operated above that threshold. Because of that, Chalmers’ salary would cost the Heat roughly three times as much in tax. But by excising the contracts of Chalmers and center Chris Andersen, the Heat could move below the tax threshold, stopping the clock on the NBA’s oppressive “repeater” tax.
Against that backdrop have been moments like Thursday: Kids cheering his appearance as a two-time NBA champion and player with a Heat tenure exceeded only by Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem, but with some of the adults in attendance speaking about him in the past tense.
“I mean it’s kind of tough just hearing all the rumors and stuff,” Chalmers said in a private moment, before addressing a group that included 10 underprivileged participants sponsored by Warren Henry. “But you know, that’s what it was, was just rumors. I’ve just got to keep focusing on my game and keep my mind straight and keep fighting through it.”
Chalmers said he left Riley’s office aware of the potential tax implications during an offseason that has included massive raises for Wade and Dragic. But he also said it has been a mostly unspoken subtext.
“He didn’t say anything about that,” Chalmers said of the tax. “So that was the end of the conversation. He said he would let me know. And then I’m still here to this day. So I’m not going to worry about it.”
Instead, he is looking ahead to an eighth season with the Heat since being selected out of Kansas in the second round in 2008, eager for a sitdown with coach Erik Spoelstra and a blueprint of his role going forward.
“Get a better understanding of what he’s going to need from me and want from me this season, and go from there,” he said.
