2017 NBA free agency grades: Memphis Grizzlies to add Mario Chalmers

According to reports, the Memphis Grizzlies are in the process of adding veteran guard Mario Chalmers on a one-year, partially guaranteed deal.

A familiar face is reportedly on his way back to the Memphis Grizzlies.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Grizzlies are on the cusp of adding veteran point guard Mario Chalmers on a one-year, partially guaranteed deal.

Having spent the last season on the sidelines after suffering a torn right Achilles tendon two seasons ago during his first stint with the Grizzlies, this move will bring Chalmers back on the NBA level heading into training camp.

After spending seven seasons and being a part of two championship teams with the Miami Heat, Chalmers came to Memphis in the early weeks of the aforementioned 2015-16 season in a trade, along with swingman James Ennis.

While the trade was viewed as being done for salary purposes on the Heat’s end of things, Chalmers grew to become a solid contributor for the Grizzlies over the few months he played for them before his injury.

More from Memphis Grizzlies

In his 55 appearances with the Grizzlies, Chalmers averaged 10.8 points per game on a 57 percent true shooting percentage and dished out 3.8 assists per game.

Unfortunately, Chalmers’ first stint with the Grizzlies came to an abrupt end as the team waived him following his injury.

Not only does the move bring Chalmers back to Memphis, but it also reunites him with Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale, who Chalmers played under when Fizdale was an assistant coach during their days with the Heat.

On the Grizzlies’ side of the transaction, the move to bring in Chalmers makes sense for a few reasons.

He’s obviously a player the organization is familiar with and with the Grizzlies lacking an experienced point guard behind Mike Conley, Chalmers is the right type of player to lead the team’s second unit in theory.

Of course, all of this is provided that Chalmers can return to the level he set for himself before his injury, as he wasn’t one that prided himself on his athleticism and that was when he was on the right side of being 30 years old.

Now if Chalmers can prove he’s capable of playing up to the speed and size of the NBA post-Achilles injury, he can turn this chance the Grizzlies are taking on him into a lasting one by securing his spot for the duration of the season.

Overall, it’s a low-risk, solid-sized reward for the Grizzlies to add Chalmers at this point in the offseason. Best-case scenario, Chalmers plays near or at the level he played at before his injury and fills a needed role for the Grizzlies over the course of the season next year.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far

If worse comes to worse, the Grizzlies will look elsewhere to find a capable backup point guard, but won’t be on the hook for a full year of Chalmers’ salary, due to the partial guarantee that’s reportedly included in the deal.

Grade: C

Home/Memphis Grizzlies