Free agent point guard Mario Chalmers is reportedly still in the Cleveland Cavaliers' radar as the defending NBA champions have yet to finish their search for a long-term backup point guard to Kyrie Irving.
With Mo Williams out with an injury and contemplating retirement, the Cavs does not have a lot of options at the second-string point guard position with only rookie Kay Felder at the spot right now.
Natural shooting guard Iman Shumpert has been playing the position from time to time but head coach Tyronn Lue clearly needs more reinforcement if the team wants to repeat as champions this season.
The Cavs and the Golden State Warriors look headed to a third consecutive NBA Finals battle with both teams on top of their respective conferences so far. With the latter further improved because of the addition of Kevin Durant in the summer, Cleveland needs to find a way to stay at par with their star-studded rivals.
It should be noted, though, that Cleveland is still loaded with superstars in LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Irving, but their weakness right now is on bench play.
Cleveland.com reported that Chalmers "remains an option for the Cavs, but that they will pursue alternatives before trying to sign" him. This means that the club will assess the trade market first as soon as the NBA's trade restriction for newly-signed free agents is lifted on Dec. 15.
If the Cavs will not be able to find a suitable trade partner to deal with, then it would not be surprising to see Chalmers playing beside James and chasing championships once again. Chalmers was James' former teammate and the starting point guard in Miami where they won two NBA titles in 2012 and 2013.
The 30-year-old former Kansas Jayhawks standout has been recovering from an Achilles injury he suffered in March when he was still playing for the Memphis Grizzlies. He underwent surgery and was ruled out for the rest of 2015-2016 before he was eventually waived by the Grizzlies at the end of last season, as per ESPN.
Chalmers is expected to be signed to a veteran's minimum deal by the Cavs as the team is already over the salary cap.
