A rumor that started a little over a month ago turned into a reality much faster than any Mavs Fanatic could have imagined. Tyson Chandler is back in Dallas, and we can only hope that he can fill the void many believed was missing following the historic 2011 championship run.
We gathered all of the Mavs Fanatic contributors to get their thoughts on this move. Here is what they had to say:
Ryan Wilson
Good opening move by Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson, but there must be more to follow in order to make a true impact. The Mavericks did give up one of the top three point specialists in the NBA in Jose Calderon, and both of their draft picks, along with a few other players. However, they are filling two huge needs before Free Agency even begins: A defensive presence in the paint, and attitude. Tyson Chandler provides both, and the Mavericks didn’t even have to give up Brandan Wright in the process.
Sure, they gave up both of their draft picks, but the Mavericks have never really prided themselves on the NBA Draft anyways. It’s also important to note that the Mavericks could still find a way to get back into the 1st Round of this deep draft class.
If the Mavericks are able to land Carmelo Anthony, because of his respect for Tyson Chandler in New York, great! If not, the Mavericks need to add two solid players to go along with Nowitzki, Chandler, and Ellis.
The addition of Felton is questionable at best. Losing Calderon leaves no point guard on the roster at the moment, because Devin Harris is a free agent at the moment. Even if the Mavericks re-sign Harris, as expected, I’m still not sure he is a starting point guard in this league.
It’s too early to tell. One thing is for sure, the Mavericks came out guns blazin’ and have gotten this “arms race” started far earlier than expected.
Damian Jackson
The trade works for me, easily.
If anything really stung it was the short-term idea of losing our starting point guard Jose Calderon and the 34th pick in the draft.
Dallas is in win-now mode and this trade exemplifies such. We landed the best player in the deal.
The most iffy part about the whole trade was taking back Raymond Felton, but financially made out well by shedding Calderon’s contract which runs through 2017.
Parting with Shane Larkin, a waste of a draft pick, and Wayne Ellington was not and shouldn’t be tough. Neither guy was making an impact on this team going forward.
Sam Dalembert had a roller coaster season and did well in stretches. DeJuan Blair was the Mavericks best center in the playoffs against the Spurs, a series in which Dallas struggled to defend the interior.That problem was addressed with Chandler. Chandler also poses a possibly important figure in the Mavericks pitch to Carmelo Anthony whom he was locker pals and most respected Knicks teammate.
Oh, and Dirk’s happy about this trade, so I’m happy that Dirk is thrilled.
Dirk Nowitzki ‘thrilled’ to reunite with Tyson Chandler, will participate in recruiting Carmelo Anthony to Dallas http://t.co/WisH338I24
— Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) June 26, 2014
Greg Higgins
Follow @greghiggins457 Any time I hear the name Tyson Chandler in association with the Dallas Mavericks, I get excited. I mean, let’s face it, he’s one of the main reasons the Mavericks made it to the Finals in 2011. Most Mavericks’ fans don’t understand the legistics as to why Mark Cuban let him go after the championship and they will always ask the question, “What might have been?”
Unfortunately that’s a question that will never be answered. We do, however, have another saga to discuss. Tyson Chandler 2.0 will be in effect this next season. Chandler was traded to the Mavs along with Raymond Felton for Samuel Dalembert, Jose Calderon, Wayne Ellington and Shane Larkin. The Knicks also get two second round picks (34 and 51 overall).
At first I didn’t know how I felt about this trade. I’m a huge Chandler fan and I love the fact that he will be back in a Mavs uniform this next year. However, I was a little worried that the deal involved two point guards in Larkin and Calderon. With Devin Harris not guaranteed back next season, I was a little baffled by getting rid of those players in this deal.
Then I was reminded of something by another MavsFanatic.com writer. I was reminded to trust in Cuban. Sometimes we don’t understand every move but there’s usually always a means to an end. There have been times I didn’t agree with his moves and there have been times my reasoning was proven right. However, more times than not, I’m proven wrong in my reasonings.
I know there’s a long way to go with free agency and we’ve only just begun to see the moves that will be made. I know the Mavs have an idea of where they want to go with this so I’m going to trust them. Because I’ve decided to do this, the Chandler deal makes me extremely happy.
Michael Lark
I love the deal. The Mavs get back the player that was the defensive anchor to the only championship this franchise has ever known and a fan favorite that brings a number of intangibles to the table, including leadership and energy that the Mavs have been severely lacking since he left. Sure, it sucks to lose Calderon, who finished 5th in the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage (44.9%) but most importantly I think it’s a great trade because as free agency kicks off in a matter of days, the Mavs are armed with a core of Monta, Dirk and now Chandler that they can bring to the discussion table as they attempt to lure the “big fish.”
Clearly, Mark Cuban and the Mavs front office have learned from their unsuccessful attempts to sign Deron Williams and Dwight Howard the past couple of off-seasons. Williams was quoted as saying the Brooklyn Nets trade for Joe Johnson just hours before he re-signed, significantly influenced his decision to re-up with the Nets.
This time around the Mavs are ahead of the curve, having decided to not rely solely on cap space to lure free agents, but to upgrade their roster via trade in the process. Worried about those draft picks? Quick, name me a 2nd round prospect you believe can immediately and significantly help this team become a top 5 contender? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
This team is and will always be in win now mode as long as Dirk Nowitzki is in a Mavs uniform so, you can forget about getting younger and developing players for now. Let’s retool and get another championship with Dirk. Who knows? Maybe the Kings will buyout the last year of Jason Terry’s contract and we’ll resign him for the minimum and defend that 2011 title, three years later. The possibilities are endless. It’s a win for the Mavs.
Terence Huie
I might be the only MFFL who doesn’t agree with this trade. For the most part, I feel that the Knicks-Mavs trade could have been negotiated better so that Cuban would not lose all the assets.
Losing Jose Calderon puts the team at a huge disadvantage right now. The team loses a guy who is in the top 10 category for three-point percentage. After dropping Darren Collison and picking up Calderon last summer, the Mavs jumped from 12th to 4th in team offensive efficiency. Not to mention, the backup guard Devin Harris is currently a free agent. Right now, Raymond Felton is the only point guard on the team now. This isn’t a good feeling considering Felton coming off a struggling year.
It’s good that Tyson Chandler is back in a Mavericks jersey. BUT, Chandler is 31 years old with injuries that are affecting his play on the court. Chandler only played 55 games last year, compared to Dalembert who played 80 games. If the Mavs want to content for a title, Chandler has to stay healthy. Point blank, period.
Marc Cashion
The biggest complaint that I have seen over this giant Tyson Chandler trade has been the loss of Jose Calderon. The best way to look at the results of this trade is to look at the depth of each position. According to ESPN’s Real plus or minus stats the 25th best point guard is Jrue Holiday, who actually is a really good point guard in the NBA. The 25th best center is Pero Antic, who I honestly have absolutely zero knowledge of. The point being point guards are replaceable, Damian in his top 10 PG free agent article has Isaiah Thomas as his 7th best point guard. While my top 10 Center article, that will be out Friday, has (SPOILER ALERT) Jermaine O’Neal. Thomas is a starter in this league while Jermaine O’Neal is not. Point being, a good solid Center is much more difficult to come by than a point guard.
After those that are angry about losing a good point guard have died down, you have to look at the big picture. We now have a great core of players that are just begging for a superstar to catapult us to a championship caliber team. The addition of Melo, for example, would give us Monta Ellis, a rim protecting center in Chandler, and one of the greatest power forwards of all time Dirk Nowitzki. Breaking down the trade piece by piece looking at last year’s results: Wayne Ellington was a no factor, Shane Larkin was a no factor, Samuel Dalembert sometimes didn’t even want to play, and Jose Calderon was great on offense but had no defense. This team will never have an issue scoring so adding a high caliber defensive center is a dream scenario.
The main thing to realize is this front office is not even close to through, Mavs fan’s need to hang tight and be excited about this teams future.
HEY DALLAS! I’M BACK! @tysonchandlerpic.twitter.com/RPu6Jp0pHO
— Mavs Fanatic (@TheMavsFanatic) June 25, 2014
Photo Credits: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
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