The Cleveland Cavaliers are expressing interest in free agent point guard Mario Chalmers, according to reports.
Chalmers is coming off a season-ending Achilles injury, and is in the final stages of a long rehab from spring surgery.
From ESPN’s Marc Stein:
Separate from the Smith saga, rumbles persist that Cleveland has strong interest in reuniting LeBron James with his old Miami teammate Mario Chalmers when the veteran point guard is sufficiently healthy to return from Achilles surgery in March.
Chalmers played an important role during his time in Miami alongside LeBron James, helping the franchise win two NBA championships. James and Chalmers shared a special relationship during their four years together (despite the occasional on-the-court disputes that featured Chalmers being yelled at by one of the Heat’s big three).
It’s easy to see why Cleveland is taking an interest in signing Chalmers.
Unfortunately for the Cavs, Chalmers isn’t expected to be healthy until next month. With veteran Mo Williams retiring and last season’s back-up point guard Matthew Dellavedova signing elsewhere, Cleveland has been aggressively searching for someone capable of running the second unit.
They signed Toney Douglas to a camp deal, but subsequently waived him Friday night to free up a roster spot for J.R. Smith. Jordan McRae provides a here-and-there scoring punch, but isn’t the back-up point guard a championship team is looking for.
With that being said, Cleveland has contacted the likes of Chalmers, Norris Cole (also LeBron’s former teammate), and, according to Joe Vardon of cleveland.com, veteran Kirk Hinrich.
The options are out there for the Cavs, but for the time being, fans are being left to helplessly ponder the team’s disappointing backcourt situation.
