Mario Chalmers: 'I didn't think the Heat wanted me back'

Heat guard Mario Chalmers says he didn’t think that the team wanted him back after a horrific playoff performance. The team eventually signed him to a two-year deal, worth $8.3 million in the offseason.

Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers said he's surprised the team was interested in retaining him after a bad performance in the NBA Finals, which the Heat lost to the San Antonio Spurs in five games.

Chalmers averaged 4.4 and 2.8 assists in the series and was benched for Game 5. He admits that after his Finals performance he pouted and felt like he let the organization down. He was an unrestricted free agent this summer.

“I didn't even think the Heat would want me back, to be honest,” Chalmers told Bleacher Report. "That's how I felt like my playoff performance was, that they didn't want me back, they wanted to go another direction."

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The team drafted Connecticut’s Shabazz Napier in the first round of this year’s NBA draft but eventually signed Chalmers to a two-year, $8.3 million deal. More from Chalmers:

"A lot of people doubted me, a lot of people still doubt me. But I believe in myself. And I've got a good organization that believes in me too."​

Chalmers, 28, has averaged 8.6 points and 3.8 assists per game in his NBA career and has been a part of two championship teams with the Heat.

- Scooby Axson