New York Knicks: 5 Options To Back Up Derrick Rose
Mario Chalmers
Chalmers was selected by the Miami Heat in the second round with the 34th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Chalmers was an integral part of the team for six seasons, but then began to see his role change with the team.
Chalmers was no longer looked at as the starting point guard, as he was moved to the bench for more than half of the 2014-15 season. Chalmers was moved to more of a combo guard role, playing 48 percent of his minutes at shooting guard and 52 percent at point guard. It was not a role Chalmers was comfortable in, and it showed with his play on the court.
Chalmers was always a solid three-point shooter and regarded as a good defender, but once 2014-15 came around his production plummeted. He shot 29.4 percent from deep, and was a negative player for the first time in his career. Things looked like they were going the same when 2015-16 began, until he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies after playing only six games with the Heat.
Chalmers got things going again with the Grizzlies, looking more like the player from the first six years of his career. After shooting 9.1 percent from deep with the Heat to start the season, he improved to 32.6 with the Grizzlies; still below his career average but an improvement.
Chalmers looked like he was going to land himself a nice contract during this summer, but he tore his Achilles tendon in March. He says that he is ahead of schedule, and is expecting to be ready for training camp. He is someone the Knicks should be able to get on the cheap, as he shouldn’t receive many long-term or big money offers coming off such a serious injury.
It is an opportunity for the Knicks to buy low on a player that will have something to prove and be looking to improve his value that has been hit hard by the Achilles injury.
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