The Miami Heat have been marketing point guard Mario Chalmers for some time now this offseason to lessen their luxury tax, but those efforts are reportedly put to a halt as the team will first observe young guards Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson before making a decision.
Chalmers lost his starting role last season and the arrival of Slovenian playmaker Goran Dragić via trade from the Phoenix Suns did not help either.
Despite being a steady contributor for Miami, Chalmers' stay with the franchise he played all seven of his National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons with is in jeopardy.
But Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald wrote in his "Sunday Buzz" column, "The Heat, incidentally, wants to take a long look at Johnson and Josh Richardson in training camp before deciding whether to make a renewed attempt to trade Chalmers."
Dragić is set to be the starting point guard for the Heat in the upcoming 2015–16 season, although he does not have a main backup.
Johnson in his first year last season played as a backup shooting guard but he is expected to transition to a point guard during training camp, according to Heatnation.com.
Meanwhile Richardson, who was a second-round pick this 2015, played the no. 1–3 spot for the University of Tennessee.
Keeping Chalmers might be the best option for Miami as of the moment because once Johnson and Richardson fail to prove they are ready to be a backup to Dragić, the team will at least have a veteran in Chalmers.
Chalmers played well last season, averaging 10.2 points (career-best), 2.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per outing in 80 regular season games played, which included only 37 starts.
Along with Chalmers, center Chris Andersen is also in the trade block for the Heat; but the big man already said that he is not bothered a bit by what is happening and understands that it is all just business.
