The Miami Heat know that if they keep their roster the way it currently is for the rest of the season that they will be the first team ever to pay the repeater tax. The Heat have given big time raises to Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade this offseason and because of that guys like Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen have been on the trading block. Despite the rumors Andersen and Chalmers are still with Miami as of right now although that may not stay the case as there have been reports of the Philadelphia 76ers having interest in Chalmers, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
After computing all of the salaries, the salary cap and the luxury tax line the Heat have figured out that they are over the tax line by $7.8 million. If the roster stays in tack that means the Heat would be paying a 2016 tax bill of more than $20 million, according to Nick Borges of ESPN. Chalmers is set to make $4.3 million next season and Andersen is set to make $5 million so if the Heat were to trade both of them they would be under the tax line and avoid the dreaded repeater tax.
Chalmers has said it isn't easy dealing with the trade rumors but he knows that they are just rumors and he can't let it affect him. Chalmers said that in his end of year meeting with Pat Riley he was told that he would only be traded if Riley really needed to. That is an interesting statement because it is fair to wonder if getting under the luxury tax line quantifies Riley needing to trade Chalmers.
Chalmers is the only other point guard on the roster besides Dragic so as of right now he is set to be Miami's backup. Chalmers' $4.3 million salary for next season is actually somewhat of a bargain for a backup point guard as it is below the league average but the Heat seem to be willing to give that up to get under the tax line.
Andersen, on the other hand, is expendable because the Heat have Amar'e Stoudemire, Josh McRoberts and Udonis Haslem as big men coming off the bench behind Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside. If the 76ers have serious interest in Chalmers, or if any other team has any interest in either him or Andersen, it seems likely that they will be traded as the Heat desperately want to avoid paying the repeater tax.
