Reports have surfaced that the Dallas Mavericks are bringing back center Tyson Chandler to the city where he won his lone championship. The NBA off-season keeps rolling on.
Marc Stein of ESPN is reporting that the deal is now being finalized. The Mavericks will acquire Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton; and the New York Knicks will receive Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin, the No. 34 and No. 51 pick in the 2014 Draft, according to CBSsports.com.
For the Mavs this is clearly a “win-now” move. Adding Chandler to an already veteran team will lock up some defensive leaks and bring back some leadership. The question of whether Chandler has anything left in the tank at his advanced age clearly does not bother Mark Cuban and company.
Phil Jackson however is starting to heat up as this marks his first major move as president of the franchise.
From what Knicks fans saw from Chandler and especially Felton this past season, they must be doing cart-wheels in their living rooms upon hearing this news. Or clapping while stuck in some Lincoln Tunnel traffic (drive with your knee carefully). Chandler seemed to not care anymore, and Felton is arguably the worst defensive point guard in the league.
Guard Jose Calderon is a solid, veteran presence who will immediately pay dividends. The 32-year-old Spaniard started all 81 games for which he played in Dallas last season, according to BasketballReference.com. He averaged 11.4 points per game to go along with 4.7 assists for a surprisingly solid Mavs team in the tough western conference. He can play both point and off the ball which will give the Knicks a much needed look.
Shane Larkin is a very intriguing piece to this deal. Adding this youth to go along with Iman Shumpert and Tim Hardaway Jr. is a nice move. All said and done, if the Knicks and Dalembert agree to a buyout, this trade would clear up $7.9 million, which could pave the way for Carmelo Anthony to stay. Adding those two late picks cannot be ignored either in such a deep draft class.
The negative on the Knicks side is that it does add some salary to the summer of 2015 where big free-agents loom. Moving to the side of youth though was clearly the strategy at the hands of Phil Jackson.