With the trade market for Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers cool at best, the Heat are reportedly holding off on trading him.
Goran Dragic is going to soak up most of the point guard minutes, and Tyler Johnson has proven to be a decent backup in his short stint last season, so Chalmers has become expendable (not to mention the fact that his contract could tilt the Heat into the dreaded repeater tax).
But according to the Miami Herald, the team wants to see how well Johnson fits with the current roster before trading Chalmers and risking a depleted bench:
"And with Tyler Johnson also cleared to return from his broken jaw sustained in Summer League (he has been working out in Delray Beach), the Heat is back to full strength a month before training camp.
"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."
The Heat are probably just posturing so they can get a better deal, as Chalmers has been on the trading block all summer and no one has budged. By taking him off the block momentarily, the Heat gain some leverage, if only slightly, in negotiations. Miami is using reverse psychology on the trade market, but it's unclear how that'll work with a player of Chalmers' stature.
Either way, Chalmers days in a Heat uniform are numbered. It's just a matter of finding a willing suitor.
(h/t Miami Herald)
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