Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
“☀️✌️”
That was all Tyson Chandler had to say in regards to the crazy emoji filled day that occurred when DeAndre Jordan bailed on the Dallas Mavericks to rejoin his Los Angeles Clippers. Just a week prior to July 8th, Chandler signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Phoenix Suns. Over the summer, Chandler hasn’t shied in giving his thoughts on his experience with the Mavericks organization over the last two stints.
“I definitely felt like, after winning a championship and help bring it there, that I was going to be there for the long run,” said Chandler. “I never heard of a championship team being broken up like that. When they traded for me to come back, I sat at the podium with everybody else and heard them say this was going to be a long-term deal and they weren’t going to make the same mistake as last time and blah-blah-blah. Seven months later, the same thing happens again. But I learned in this business that you can’t trust everybody. That’s why it is what it is.”
Chandler will always be loved by MFFL’s everywhere for his non stop energy and helping provide the Mavericks with their only NBA Championship back in 2011. When fans saw the Mavericks organization let him go, only to pick him back up again, they figured it would be for the long haul, just as Chandler did. The Mavericks had their eyes set on DeAndre Jordan, and you could only imagine how that made Chandler feel as he waited in the wings.
Early on this season, the Mavericks will get a good up close look at their former center. They open the season on the road against the Suns, and tonight, they will welcome Chandler back to the American Airlines Center.
“To be honest, I don’t know what my emotions are going to be like going in there until I get there. I feel like the whole situation was all bad – twice.”
The Mavericks have failed to notch their first victory of the preseason, as they currently stand at 0-5. At first glance, you would wonder what exactly is going on in Big D, but the Mavericks haven’t had the services of Chandler Parsons, Deron Williams, or Wesley Matthews. They rested Dirk Nowitzki for the first three games, and given some of their other guys the occasional rest as well. The fact is the preseason hasn’t been an accurate reflection on what to expect from the Mavericks up to this point, and it won’t change tonight either.
“It’s not ideal right now, but it’s a process,” said Rick Carlisle. “And we’ve got two more games to keep improving conditioning and getting guys working on chemistry and things like that. And we’ll just keep working on it.”
There have been some positives, however. John Jenkins has dominated the preseason, scoring at will and figures to be a serious rotation player to start this season, most likely even a starter come opening night.
The Suns (3-2) are coming off a solid showing last night in San Antonio, defeating one of the Western Conference power teams 104-84.
Injury Report:
Samuel Dalembert (left leg injury)
Chandler Parsons (right knee surgery)
Wesley Matthews (left Achilles surgery)
Deron Williams (right calf strain)
Maurice Ndour (left tibial stress reaction)
JaVale McGee (left tibial stress fracture)
How To Watch:
Game starts at 7:30 p.m. CT. If you don’t have tickets to the game, you can catch it locally on Fox Sports Southwest.
Up Next:
The Mavericks will travel to Chi Town to take on the Chicago Bulls Friday, October 23rd.
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