Memphis Grizzlies: Can Mario Chalmers Rebuild His Game?

The Memphis Grizzlies‘ trade acquisition of Mario Chalmers from the Miami Heat on Tuesday offers the point guard a chance to correct himself as a backup point guard.

The Grizzlies need Chalmers to protect their floor general, Mike Conley, who has dealt with a number of injuries in the past year. Beno Udrih, who went to the Heat along with Jarnell Stokes in exchange for Chalmers and James Ennis, injected offense and worked well with the starters both when coming off the bench and stepping up when Conley was out.

But the 33-year-old Udrih, who had surgery in June to remove a chipped bone in his right ankle, wasn’t in good condition as the season began, necessitating a change.

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Chalmers should put the past season and change behind him as he takes the reserve role behind a high-end player. In 2014-15, he scored a career-high 10.2 points per game, but made only 40.3 percent from the field while setting a career low with 29.4 percent from three-point range. He started this season with a pitiful 5.5 points per game while making just one of 11 long-range attempts.

The Grizzlies can hope the 29-year-old will return to the form of his first six years, in which he averaged 8.6 points per game while knocking down 37.3 percent from downtown.

Notionally, Chalmers can make a difference for the Grizzlies in this area. Possibly, he dipped because LeBron James‘ departure, Josh McRoberts‘ injury and Goran Dragic‘s presence sucked created conditions in which he couldn’t get the space or the shots he wanted.

The Grizzlies would need someone to set him up the way James did, either if he were playing a bit alongside Conley or if Vince Carter and other reserves could rotate the ball to him.

Also, the fact that 87.1 percent of Chalmers’ career three-pointers have been assisted, which isn’t extraordinarily high, offers some hope he can create some of his own.

Chalmers boasts even more value as a defender, which means a much smaller drop-off on that end than when Udrih subbed. Udrih is a sieve, whereas Chalmers is a dangerous on-ball defender. Looking at their per 100 possession figures, Chalmers’ steals advantage is staggering. Also, for their careers, Chalmers’ defensive rating is five points lower.

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The Commercial Appeal’s Chris Herrington said that when projecting Chalmers as a defensive upgrade, “The Grizzlies are on firmer ground. Chalmers is younger, at least somewhat more athletic and measures out better statistically.”

Chalmers’ floor with the Grizzlies reasonable. He will open things up for Jeff Green and create with Brandan Wright on the pick-and-roll while locking down on defense. Even if his three-point shot only returns partially, he’ll be better than Udrih, who made 26.8 percent from downtown last year.

With that, Chalmers addresses the Grizzlies’ immediate need for a new backup point guard better than most would realize.

Being traded should motivate Chalmers since he’s in a contract year. Chalmers, who won two titles and was once considered one of the better point guards in the league, has an opportunity to find a place where he can become a starter again.

The point guard field will be thin, with Conley, Rajon Rondo and Deron Williams are the big names hitting the market. At that, Rondo and Williams are trying to recover after being cast away in the past year.

A strong run with the Grizzlies would allow him to compete with Brandon Jennings and Greivis Vasquez for real money. On the other hand, a continuation of his current slide guarantees he’ll get significantly less than the $4 million he’s earned each year since 2011-12 as he becomes too old for teams to trust him.