The Miami Heat have shopped a Mario Chalmers trade this offseason and teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, NY Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers could be potential landing spots after the team traded Shabazz Napier to the Magic and Zoran Dragic to the Celtics, as moving Chalmers along with Chris Andersen would help lower the luxury tax bill for Miami heading into the season.
Miami has been "aggressively shopping" Chalmers this offseason along with Napier and Andersen and now that Napier has been traded, the other two could follow. It was reported earlier in the offseason that all three players were on the trade block and now Tim Reynolds at the Associated Press reports that Chalmers could be next to move. Napier was traded to the Magic and Reynolds writes that the move does not mean that Chalmers will stay on the roster.
Miami is content to have Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson behind Goran Dragic coming into the season, as moving Chalmers would lower the luxury tax on the team considerably. The same goes for move with Andersen, as the Miami Herald reports that moving the contracts worth $5 million and $4.3 million would free up over $10 million in luxury tax penalties. Grantland.com reported that Miami was willing to give up Chalmers for practically "nothing" and the same likely goes for Anderson.
The Magic felt the Napier move was a low risk option since he was cheap and Miami now will have to find better situations for Chalmers and/or Andersen. The Philadelphia 76ers have cap space and could absorb one of the deals, while the Lakers have reportedly been interested in adding another point guard. RealGM reported that the Lakers were looking at trading for Ty Lawson before he was dealt to the Rockets and Chalmers could be an option to look at.
The Lakers move is unlikely though, as Chris Sheridan at Sheridan Hoops reports that the team has a pretty crowded roster and the financials may not work out. The Lakers have Jordan Clarkson and D'Angelo Russell at point guard and while they would like to add another veteran, Chalmers may not be the fit the team is looking for. The Sixers have looked at Norris Cole on the free agent market and going after Chalmers could be an option if they don't sign Cole or someone else in free agency this summer.
The Knicks have Jerian Grant coming in to back up Jose Calderon, but the team could look at making a deal if they trade one of their guards down the line. The Knicks are not looking to take on contracts and Ian Begley at ESPN New York writes that Ricky Ledo has been strong this summer and could get a roster spot this year coming out of camp.
The Heat are still going to shop Chalmers and Reynolds writes that the Miami "has not been shy" about their desire to move Chalmers to help open more cap space. The team has signed back Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic this offseason and they also added Amar'e Stoudemire and Gerald Green in free agency. Miami missed the playoffs last season and they are looking to bounce back this year.
