Mario Chalmers was a highly touted prospect coming out of Kansas when he entered his name into the 2008 NBA Draft.
Chalmers recently joined CBS Sports to relive his memories from the draft and how he felt heading into that night. The Alaska native ultimately was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round after originally thinking he'd be a first-round pick.
The veteran guard had believed that he'd be a first-round pick based off of the information he had received from NBA teams leading up to the draft. However, he ended up being the No. 34 overall pick by the Timberwolves and was eventually traded to the Miami Heat.
"I didn't want to go to Minnesota," Chalmers stated when discussing what it was like to be involved in a trade on draft night. "I'm not even going to lie, I did not want to play anywhere cold. By the time I got to the back after shaking Adam Silver's hand, the first thing I heard was 'you got traded to Miami.' I was like 'I'm not in the mood to play. I just want to get through this and have no jokes.' I went around another corner and talked to Pat Riley and my whole mood changed."
Chalmers had played against Michael Beasley since 8th or 9th grade and the two were rivals ever since that time. Beasley was selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 draft by the Heat, so the longtime rivals were now set to become teammates. Chalmers admitted that the two "hated each other" from their battles in their younger days, but ended up burying the hatchet.
"So we put everything behind us," Chalmers. "So every since then, Beas is one of my close friends. It really helped me having someone go through the grind with me and get yelled at with me."
Chalmers played nine seasons in the NBA with the Heat and Memphis Grizzlies and was a member of two championship teams in Miami.
