What was Chalmers’ reaction when he learned of latest Heat opportunity? ‘I didn’t believe it’
Mario Chalmers has been pushing for a return to the Miami Heat. But when he actually got his wish, he didn’t believe it at first.
“I’m not going to lie. My immediate reaction is I didn’t believe it,” Chalmers said Friday. “I thought my agent was playing with me.”
Chalmers’ agent was serious, as he’s one of six COVID-19 replacements signed to 10-day contracts by the Heat since Thursday amid the team’s outbreak and injury issues. He’s back with the Heat, at least for the next week or so, after spending the first seven-plus seasons of his NBA career in Miami and winning two NBA championships as the Heat’s starting point guard in 2012 and 2013.
Chalmers last played in an NBA game on April 11, 2018 as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. He tore his right Achilles tendon in March 2016 and it derailed his NBA career, as he needed four additional surgeries because of issues stemming from the injury.
“I’m just grateful for the opportunity,” Chalmers said. “Whatever happens, happens. I definitely want to thank Pat [Riley] and the rest of the Heat organization for just giving me this opportunity to come back.”
After signing his 10-day deal on Friday afternoon, Chalmers didn’t play in the Heat’s 120-110 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night. Instead, Miami played four of its other COVID-19 replacement players in Kyle Guy, Haywood Highsmith, Chris Silva and Nik Stauskas, with Guy tying a career-high with 17 points.
But Chalmers, 35, will get another opportunity to play his first NBA minutes since 2018 on Sunday when the Heat takes on the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center (6 p.m., Bally Sports Sun).
“We’re kind of going and figuring this out minute by minute,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about not playing Chalmers on Friday. “I’m just open minded to all of this. We’re really just talking about a series of events that just happened in the last 48 hours. I would have liked to have gotten him in tonight. I know he really was itching to get in there. He’s a competitor. Of course he would want to get out there. It didn’t happen tonight, but it very well could at some point on this road trip.”
Since his last minutes in the NBA nearly four years ago, Chalmers has played in Italy, Greece, Puerto Rico, two games in the G League this season, and even in the halfcourt three-on-three Big 3 basketball league in an effort to make his way back into the league.
“It’s just another dream come true for me,” said Chalmers, who was originally acquired by the Heat in the second round of the 2008 draft. “To be back where it all started for me. Hopefully be able to finish out and stay the rest of the season, and see what happens next. But I’m just grateful for the opportunity. I put a lot of hard work in the last four years trying to get back and just finally getting this opportunity means a lot to me.”
The expectation is that Chalmers’ second tenure with the Heat won’t last too long, as his 10-day contract expires on Jan. 9. But there’s a possibility that Chalmers’ time with the Heat could end up being even shorter than that if players are cleared from health and safety protocols before then.
The rule that the NBA and National Basketball Players Association agreed to for this season allows teams to sign a replacement player to a 10-day contract for each positive COVID-19 case it has on its roster without it impacting teams’ salary cap. The Heat currently has six players in COVID-19 protocols and six COVID-19 replacement players on its roster, with no room for additional replacements unless others enter protocols in the coming days.
As players return, the 10-day COVID-19 replacement contracts will be terminated accordingly to match the number that the Heat has in protocols even if it’s before their 10-day clock has expired.
The Heat is optimistic that it will get most of its players currently sidelined by COVID-19 back in the coming days, with the NBA and Players Association also recently agreeing to shorten the quarantine period from six days to five days for asymptomatic and vaccinated players to return to play if testing data shows they’re no longer at risk to be infectious.
Udonis Haslem and Max Strus’ five-day quarantine runs through Sunday; P.J. Tucker and Gabe Vincent’s five-day quarantine runs through Monday; and Marcus Garrett and Duncan Robinson’s five-day quarantine runs through Tuesday.
“We still want to make sure that we’re ensuring safety of all the players and family members and friends that are in our circle,” Spoelstra said Friday when asked about the shorter quarantine required for players. “But we also understand that this landscape has been changing pretty consistently for the last two years. And in the last month or so, you’re seeing more and more vaccinated, boosted players who are asymptomatic, who are sitting out an inordinate amount of time. I think this is a good solution.”
For however long it lasts, Chalmers is enjoying his time back around the Heat. He followed the organization closely while he was away and even attended a few games in Miami, noting that “I’m always going to be a Heat fan” because of his ties to the team.
“Being around the coaching staff and the organization, it felt like home,” Chalmers said of rejoining the Heat on Friday. “But looking at the game plan and seeing what Spo actually wanted, it was a lot different than what he used to draw up for us back in the day when we had [LeBron James] and them guys.”
Chalmers and Spoelstra have stayed in touch over the years. They have a special connection, as Chalmers’ rookie NBA season was Spoelstra’s first season as an NBA head coach.
“The funny thing about that is me and Spo talked back and forth ever since I left the Heat,” Chalmers said. “Spo is my first NBA coach. We came in together, we grinded together that first year and really my first seven years. That was my first coach, my first person I really became close with as a coach.”
Spoelstra said having Chalmers around again is “like going back in time.”
While the Heat doesn’t have any home games on its schedule during the duration of Chalmers’ 10-day contract, he’s aware of the fan base’s excitement over his return. There were even “We Want, Rio!” chants at Toyota Center during the Heat’s win over the Rockets on Friday.
“Just a great feeling,” Chalmers said. “Just to be back and have the fans welcome me and just screaming my name and telling me that they want me back. It’s a great feeling to be wanted again.”
▪ Along with the six Heat players in protocols, Bam Adebayo (thumb surgery), Dewayne Dedmon (knee sprain), Markieff Morris (whiplash), KZ Okpala (wrist sprain) and Victor Oladipo (knee injury recovery) remain out against the Kings.
The Heat is expected to have the same 11 players available on Sunday that it did in Friday’s win over the Rockets.
▪ Zylan Cheatham’s 10-day contract with the Heat as a COVID-19 replacement expired following Friday’s win over the Rockets. He never appeared in a game for Miami, as he entered protocols on Wednesday after testing positive for COVID-19.
This story was originally published January 1, 2022 at 11:13 AM.
