Heat deal Chalmers to Grizzlies in changing of guards, tax move

According to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the Memphis Grizzlies are sending backup point guard Beno Udrih and Memphis native Jarnell Stokes to the Heat in exchange for Chalmers.

Through six games with the Heat this year, Chalmers was averaging 5.5 points and 3.2 assists in 20.0 minutes per game on.313/.091/.923 shooting splits. Plus, Udrih earned a player efficiency rating of 15.4 last season, which easily topped Chalmers’ mark of 11.7.

ESPN.com first reported November 3 that the Heat and Grizzlies had opened serious trade talks centered around Chalmers, with 3-5 Memphis unexpectedly on the hunt for an early season shakeup in the wake of a worrisome start that includes a 30-point home loss to Cleveland and a whopping 50-point loss at Golden State.

“I always get booed there”, Chalmers said before the Heat went to Memphis last season.

A transaction with that motivation could hurt the Heat in a few small ways, though not likely enough to make a dent in Miami’s season. Shipping out Chalmers will save $6 million in taxes for the team. Chalmers soon found himself a bit of the butt of joke after people noticed how often teammates LeBron James and Chris Bosh would end up yelling at him during playoff games. He’s 4th overall for three-pointers made in franchise history, and 5th for both assists and steals.

Chalmers also has enough flexibility in his game to play in two-guard lineups alongside Conley, just as Udrih and Nick Calathes had for Grizzlies teams past.

Stokes may be the player in this deal with the highest ceiling but he too was buried on the depth chart as he has only appeared in two games for a total of four minutes. This deal should also indicate that Gerald Green is close to returning from his undisclosed illness. The 21-year-old was selected by the Utah Jazz in the second round (35overall) of the 2014 National Basketball Association Draft following his junior season at the University of Tennessee, and his draft rights were acquired by Memphis on draft night for a 2016 second round pick.