NBA Trade Verdict

Heat Win

Miami bought the rights to Mario Chalmers for two second-round picks and cash, landing a future championship starter at a modest acquisition cost.

June 26, 2008 Miami Heat / Minnesota Timberwolves Record confidence: High

Miami Heat Received

Minnesota Timberwolves Received

  • Draft Pick 2009 second-round pick (second least favorable of 76ers, Heat, Pacers) (#45- Nick Calathes )
  • Draft Pick 2009 second-round pick (least favorable of 76ers, Heat, Pacers) (#47- Henk Norel )
  • Cash $2M cash

Trade Analysis

Miami acquired the draft rights to Mario Chalmers from Minnesota for two 2009 second-round picks and $2 million in cash. Chalmers became the starting point guard on two championship teams and appeared in more than 500 regular-season games for the Heat, giving Miami years of inexpensive rotation value from a second-round acquisition. The picks sent out became Nick Calathes and Henk Norel, neither of whom generated comparable NBA value for Minnesota. Cash was meaningful transaction currency, but it does not offset the production Miami received from Chalmers. This is a clear Heat win without requiring an inflated franchise-changing label.