Chris Silva was ‘heartbroken’ when Heat traded him. Back with Heat, he feels ‘right at home’
Center Chris Silva remembers the day the Miami Heat traded him. It was March 25, 2021.
“I was really heartbroken,” said Silva, who was traded in his second season with the Heat to the Sacramento Kings as part of the deal that brought Nemanja Bjelica to Miami.
But less than 10 months later, Silva is back with the Heat as a COVID-19 replacement to add depth to a depleted roster. Miami signed Silva, 25, to a 10-day contract Friday.
“When I signed a 10-day with the Heat, I felt like I signed a multiyear contract,” Silva said with a laugh ahead of the Heat’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on Wednesday night. “The Heat fans were sending me posts and messages welcoming me back. When I stepped in the locker room, I saw a couple faces that I recognized. I saw the coaching staff, I knew everybody.
“When I get to a new team, I’m naturally shy so I have to get to know everybody and I’m in my corner a little bit. But here, I already knew everybody. So when I came, it was just smiles and laughs and hugs. It just felt like I was right at home.”
Between Silva’s Heat departure and return, he was waived by the Kings toward the end of last regular season and represented the Brooklyn Nets in summer league. Silva then accepted a training camp invite from the Minnesota Timberwolves before he was waived just prior to the start of this season and went on to impress as a member of the Timberwolves’ G League affiliate.
Silva, a native of Gabon, Africa, averaged 15.1 points and 9.8 rebounds in 12 games for the G League’s Iowa Wolves this season. That was enough for the Timberwolves to sign Silva to a 10-day deal on Dec. 21 when they ran into their own COVID-19 issues, followed by this 10-day contract with the Heat.
“I was in my last couple days in Minnesota and my agent reached out to let me know that Miami was interested in signing me on a 10-day,” said Silva, who initially signed with the Heat an an undrafted prospect out of South Carolina prior to the 2019-20 season. “When I heard about that, I was obviously pretty happy because that’s the first team I been with coming into the league.”
Since signing with the Heat last week, Silva entered Wednesday’s contest in Portland with appearances in three consecutive games off the bench. He has totaled 17 points, 16 rebounds (six offensive and 10 defensive) and two drawn charges in 37 minutes.
“He’s relentless, absolutely relentless with his effort and there’s always going to be a play on the ball,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Heat star Jimmy Butler added: “It’s always good to have somebody that plays hard because it is a talent, whether people want to believe it or not. To rebound, to guard and to bang bodies, take charges, block shots, it’s very, very hard to do and he does it at a very high level. I’m appreciative of him and I hope he sticks somewhere in this league.”
Silva’s time with the Heat will likely be short-lived, as his 10-day contract is set to expire Sunday. And as players return from health and safety protocols, 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 entered Wednesday’s game with three players in protocols: Marcus Garrett, Udonis Haslem and Gabe Vincent. Duncan Robinson cleared protocols Wednesday, rejoined the team in Portland and is available to play against the Trail Blazers.
For however long Silva’s second stint with the Heat lasts, his goal is to “to stay in the league” because “I know I belong.”
“No matter what happens, this team always means a great deal to me,” Silva said of the Heat. “From the pre-draft workout, Miami has always felt I was back home back in Gabon just because of the weather. Back home, it doesn’t get cold. When I got to Miami, the coaches and the players, everybody was just really cool, really nice to each other and it just felt like I was around people that became family to me. That was my first team coming into the league, so it holds a special place in my heart.”
CHALMERS’ JOURNEY
While guard Mario Chalmers waits and hopes for his first NBA minutes since April 2018, he’s appreciative of his second Heat opportunity on a 10-day contract as a COVID-19 replacement.
Like Silva, Chalmers was signed to a 10-day deal on Friday. But unlike Silva, Chalmers entered Wednesday’s game against the Trail Blazers still waiting to play his first minutes of the season.
Chalmers wrote on Twitter: “One thing I can smile about is it does make me feel good that players around league are happy that I’m back and actually happy for me period……it really was a long journey back but guess wat I’m made it back to where I wanted to be.”
Chalmers, 35, spent the first seven-plus seasons of his NBA career in Miami and won two NBA championships as the Heat’s starting point guard in 2012 and 2013.
“He’s a major part of the banners that are up there,” Spoelstra said. “We were together from the beginning of his career. A lot of development was spent with Rio in the summers, working with our staff. And then preparing himself to be one of the mainstays of those championship years. Really enjoyed seeing his growth and progress as a professional and as a human being. He’s just a good guy, so we’ve always kept in touch.
“I don’t know where this is going to go. We all have to just keep an open mind to this. This is like nothing else we’ve been a part of before. But if you have an opportunity to do something like this, even if it’s just a short period of time, I think it’s worth it. I’m grateful for the relationship.”
INJURY REPORT
The Heat ruled out Bam Adebayo (thumb surgery), Jimmy Butler (ankle sprain), Dewayne Dedmon (knee sprain), Garrett (protocols), Haslem (protocols), Aric Holman (ineligible to play), Markieff Morris (whiplash), KZ Okpala (wirst sprain), Victor Oladipo (knee injury recovery)and Vincent (protocols) for Wednesday’s game in Portland.
The Trail Blazers will be without Damian Lillard (lower abdominal injury management), CJ McCollum (right lung pneumothorax) and Cody Zeller (protocols). Also, Larry Nance Jr. is doubtful because of protocols.
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 10:38 AM.
