At this point in his career, Mario Chalmers knows all about the bright lights and hoopla of the NBA’s grandest stage.
Nearing the end of his sixth season in the league, the 2008 NCAA title game hero for Kansas University is headed to the NBA Finals for the fourth year in a row with two-time defending champion Miami.
Once the Heat’s series against Western Conference champion San Antonio ends, Chalmers will have a decision to make about the next phase of his career. As an unrestricted free agent, Miami’s starting point guard could return with the Heat’s familiar core — assuming LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all choose to do the same — or shop his talents around, and find a new NBA home.
It might sound like an easy choice if James, Wade and Bosh are there and Miami pulls off a rare three-peat. The game probably comes a whole lot easier when you’re playing with a four-time league MVP.
But there are reasons for Chalmers to consider leaving a great situation, where he has started 346 games in six seasons for Miami. [As Lang Greene recently wrote for BasketballInsiders.com][1], Chalmers is 28 and could choose to capitalize on a more lucrative offer than Miami might be willing to offer.
The 6-foot-2 guard’s current deal got him [$12 million over three seasons][2]. In his career, the second-round draft pick has earned $14,327,889. As Greene points out, he hasn’t made nearly as much money in his career as Miami’s other role players: Ray Allen ($184 million), Rashard Lewis ($155 million), Shane Battier ($56 million) and Udonis Haslem ($47 million).
If the rest of Miami’s salary responsibilities make it difficult to financially structure a contract that gives Chalmers plenty of bang for his buck, it could make more sense for him to sign with another franchise.
Greene spoke with an anonymous former NBA veteran to get a player’s perspective on the decision:
> “If Chalmers has an opportunity to go
> get paid this summer he has to go and
> get the money. If he leaves the money
> on the table now, he also leaves his
> biggest opportunity to maximize his
> earnings on it as well. If he takes a
> multi-year short money deal now, he
> won’t get another chance at 31 or 32
> [years old]. At that point he’ll be in
> one-year territory.”
Get paid or get rings — it’s up to Chalmers. And it could be difficult to do both.
Certainly, he wouldn’t have much interest in playing for a lousy franchise. So if he does move on, it will most likely be with a playoff-caliber team.
[The teams with the most cap space entering the offseason][3] are Dallas, Utah, Phoenix, Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit, Charlotte, Orlando and Cleveland.
Of those situations, Dallas, Phoenix and L.A. seem the most desirable. But in Dallas, guards Monta Ellis and Jose Calderon (both similar in size to Chalmers) are under contract. Phoenix probably provides a similar scenario, with Goran Dragic under contract and the Suns likely to re-sign restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe.
The Lakers basically only have money committed to Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash next season. Would Chalmers be interested in playing with another superstar on the opposite coast? A lot will change with L.A.’s roster between now and the start of the season, but he could be asked to play a much larger role there than he does in Miami.
He would own increased responsibilities in Detroit, Charlotte or Cleveland, too — teams that lack the broad, national appeal of L.A., but figure to contend for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
The other part of this equation is Miami might just decide to move on, and let Chalmers go wherever he pleases.
In Miami’s 15 playoff games this year, Chalmers is averaging 7.1 points, 3.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds, and shooting 44.4% from the field and 38.9% from 3-point range.
The Heat, with so much money potentially wrapped up in its “Big Three” contracts, could decide to replace Chalmers with a younger, cheaper point guard option.
The Finals start Thursday night (8 p.m., ABC).
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*– Keep up with the production of all the ‘Hawks in the NBA [daily at KUsports.com][4].*
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[1]: http://www.basketballinsiders.com/nba-am-should-mario-chalmers-re-sign-in-miami/
[2]: http://hoopshype.com/free_agency_2014.htm
[3]: http://www.spotrac.com/cap-tracker/nba/2014/
[4]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/mens_basketball/hawks_nba/
[5]: https://twitter.com/BentonASmith
