After having a poor performance in the NBA Finals, Mario Chalmers did not expect to return to the Miami Heat as a free agent.

"I didn't think I'd be back," Chalmers said. "I didn't think that at all. I didn't even think the Heat would want me back, to be honest. That's how I felt like my playoff performance was, that they didn't want me back, they wanted to go another direction. So that was in my mind, too, but I was like, if it happens, it happens."

Chalmers received some encouragement from Heat general manager AndyElisburg, who called Chalmers in free agency to tell him that the team still had an interest in retaining him.

"I at least knew that one team wanted me right now," Chalmers said. "So that was a good thing."