The first trade of the NBA season has already happened at the beginning of November and although it wasn't a huge one there are still some things worth talking about in the trade between the Miami Heat and the Memphis Grizzlies. The Heat traded Mario Chalmers and James Ennis to the Grizzlies and received Beno Udrih and Jarnell Stokes in return. No big names involved in this trade but overall I would say the Heat got the better of it.
The main motivation for Miami in this trade was financial as they are trying to get under the luxury tax line so they can avoid being the first team to ever have to pay the repeater tax. Chalmers is on the books for $4.3 million this season so by moving on from him the Heat are saving about $6 million in taxes. The Chalmers trade didn't get the Heat fully below the tax line but it got them about halfway there and they will now likely look for ways to move Chris Andersen to get fully under.
For that reason alone this is a good deal for Miami but from a basketball standpoint it is as well. Neither of the players they got back will make a big impact, or any at all, this season but this could be considered addition by subtraction. Chalmers was off to a rough start to this season as he is shooting just nine percent from the three point line and maybe the trade rumors were starting to get to him. Chalmers is still a solid backup point guard and may be helpful for Memphis but he also shot 29 percent from three last season so the Heat knew it was time to move on.
Udrih doesn't figure to get much playing time in Miami as he will likely provide depth as the third point guard but with Chalmers gone that means a bigger role for Tyler Johnson. Johnson has played extremely well at the start of this season and the Heat love the way he plays so he should settle into the backup point guard role and see his minutes increase. Right now Johnson represents an upgrade at the backup point guard spot over Chalmers as he is making half of his threes.
Another piece to this trade is the addition of Jarnell Stokes for the Heat. Stokes is a second year man out of Tennessee and he was a second round pick by the Utah Jazz last year. Stokes was buried on the depth chart in Memphis and likely will be in Miami but he is a prospect worth watching as he is an elite rebounder despite being undersized for a power forward (6 foot-9.) Stokes may be the player in this deal with the most upside and he was a throw in.
As for Ennis, the other player the Heat gave up, his stock has really dropped in the NBA since last season. Ennis was solid for the Heat as a rookie last season but he came into summer league and training camp and looked like he had regressed. Ennis stated during training camp that he was frustrated because he felt like he wasn't improving and because of that he was close to being cut by the Heat out of training camp. Ennis is a very good athlete but his shooting is questionable at best and with the Heat having Justise Winslow it likely wasn't difficult for them to move on from the 25 year old. Ennis has a possibility of developing into something down the road but for now he will likely be buried on the Grizzlies depth chart.
On the surface this trade seems pretty meaningless and doesn't inspire a lot of intrigue but when you dig further into it, it seems like Heat may have gotten the better of this deal. They shed some salary, picked up a prospect and opened up more playing time for Johnson, a guy they really like. A lot can change between now and the end of the season and Chalmers may end up having a huge impact for Memphis that will change my viewpoint on the trade, but for now the Heat are the winners of this deal in my mind.
