Spoelstra: Chalmers ‘Can Hold His Head High’ After Trade

“Days like this aren’t fun, ” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said.

In case you hadn’t been counting, the trade marked the end of Chalmers’ seven year run with the Heat.

According to Bleacher Report, the team may be considering letting go of their young superstar because of his sports injury history and the $41.4 million salary due him before his contract expires. For Memphis, it brings in a bigger wing in Ennis for that 15th man role that was filled by Jarnell Stokes, who became even more unnecessary in Memphis after the great early play this season of JaMychal Green. Both Chalmers and Ennis, as well as Udrih and Stokes, are under contracts signed prior to this offseason. “This is an tough day for myself and the organization in trading Mario Chalmers and James Ennis“, Heat president Pat Riley said in a team statement. Udrih is a lot older than Chalmers, and outside of a string of stellar playoff performances past year, he isn’t exactly a quality backup point guard.

On Tuesday, the Miami Heat traded Mario Chalmers to the Memphis Grizzlies in a four-player trade. Udrih makes about $2.1 million less this season than Chalmers. Is this true? Chalmers has the reputation as more of a three-point threat, but his career percentage of 36 percent is only slightly better than Udrih’s 35 percent, though Chalmers tends to take threes at a higher rate.

The Grizzlies need more shooting, though, and Udrih was not cutting it as their backup point guard. While playing behind starter Goran Dragic over six games with the Heat this season, Chalmers was averaging 5.5 points and 3.2 assists over 20 minutes per contest. And of the minor components involved, the Heat landed the more interesting piece: Stokes, a 21-year-old forward who never got much of a crack under Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger.

It looks like the Miami Heat are the NBA version of the Denver Broncos, doing whatever they can to acquire former Tennessee Vols basketball players. Chalmers is a fine fit; the Grizzlies get a younger, quicker, and far better defensive player to back up Mike Conley. He is a career. 349 3-point shooter, at.

Stokes and Heat rookie Josh Richardson were Tennessee teammates in college. He was a 2014 second-round pick of the Utah Jazz and then immediately dealt to the Grizzlies, where he has played sparingly, with stints with the Grizzlies’ D-League affiliate, the Iowa Energy. He has a build and game similar to that of the Haslem.