Mario Chalmers was absolutely terrible for the Miami Heat during the 2014 NBA Finals. The starting point guard averaged just 4.4 points (33.3 percent shooting from the field and 14.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc), 2.8 assists and 1.4 rebounds in five games versus the San Antonio Spurs.
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On the heels of such poor play, many assumed the Heat would let Chalmers walk this past summer as a free agent and were surprised when Miami ultimately brought him back.
However, NBA fans weren’t the only ones surprised the Heat re-signed Rio.
Chalmers to Ethan J. Skolnick of Bleacher Report:
"“I didn’t think I’d be back,” Chalmers said. “I didn’t think that at all. I didn’t even think the Heat would want me back, to be honest. That’s how I felt like my playoff performance was, that they didn’t want me back, they wanted to go another direction. So that was in my mind, too, but I was like, if it happens, it happens.”"
It turns out the Heat were always interested in re-signing Chalmers, though it wasn’t until July 12 that Miami and Chalmers agreed to terms.
"He received some encouragement from Heat general manager AndyElisburg, who called to say that the team still considered him part of the family and still had an interest in retaining him. They just needed to see how LeBron James‘ free agency played out, and they’d come back to him.“I at least knew that one team wanted me right now,” Chalmers said. “So that was a good thing.”"
Chalmers averaged 9.8 points and 4.9 assists per game this past season with Miami.