Miami Heat extend qualifying offer to Mario Chalmers – NBA Update
Miami Heat may have lost the NBA Finals, but they are certainly not losing out on the men who took them there. Just a week after the Finals heartbreak, the South Beach franchise has extended a qualifying offer to their young guard
Mario Chalmers.
Mario Chalmers was one of the success stories for the Miami Heat this post season. While everything and everyone on the team was overshadowed by the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers quietly
went about to do an effective job. The player seemed to improve as the season went on. He hit big shots for Miami throughout the playoffs, leading the franchise in post season 3-point shots made with thirty two.
Mario’s good work did not go unnoticed by his coach, Erik Spoelstra, who was gracious in his praise for the guard in the Miami Heat’s exit interviews,
"We're encouraged by Mario's progress," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He's a combination guard and he's a guard that can start under the right circumstances.”
Spoelstra went on to describe the effect that Mario can has and can continue to have on the team, which he termed invaluable,
“He's also a great fit coming off the bench because of the energy that he provides and his ability to change the game, either with his scoring or defence or playmaking, and that's a unique quality to have coming off the bench."
The Miami Heat have now, as expected, extended a qualifying offer to the young guard. Mario Chalmers spent all three of his NBA seasons with the Miami Heat and declared earlier that he will like to stay at the franchise. Miami
are also likely to match any offer made to Mario in the off season in order to keep him tied. However, Chalmers good showings in the post season and in the Finals are sure to attract offers substantially larger to the $847,000 he made this year.
Chalmers was so good in the NBA Finals that Miami coach Erik Spoelstra moved him into the starting line-up before the series was over. Chalmers led the Heat in 3-pointers made during the Finals with 14 and averaged 11.8 points
per game, the highest after the Big Three.
Chalmers had the best plus-minus rating of any Miami Heat player in the post season, where his team outscored opponents by 79 during his time on the court.
Spoelstra credited Chalmers work ethic and dedication for his rise over the years, saying that the player really works hard on his game during the off season,
"He had a little bit of a setback last year with his sprained ankle but the first seven weeks of the summer he was really spending a great deal of time on his balance, his shooting, making plays off the dribble.”
The Heat might have lost but they certainly know how to form a winning a combination and Chalmers could prove an important player in the Miami Heat’s NBA title quest next season.
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