The Tyson Chandler trade rumors are heating up, as the NY Knicks appear to be trading their star to the Dallas Mavericks with Raymond Felton for Jose Calderon and other players according to ESPN and this is a move that has been talked about for some time and this comes a day ahead of the NBA Draft.
According to ESPN.com, the Mavericks and Knicks are in "advanced talks" about the trade and the Mavs are set to acquire Chandler and Felton for a group of players, including Jose Calderon and Shane Larkin along with Samuel Dalembert and this could be the first move for the Knicks as they try to keep Carmelo Anthony. Moving Chandler is tough, but it takes his salary away and now the team also acquires some fresh players to bring in and they also could be using this to set up their financial situation.
This trade has some moving parts and this is a big move for the Knicks, as they are trying to sign a number of players this offseason, including Anthony. The Mavericks are also looking at Anthony and this could be a move that gets him there as well. Anthony is considering his options and while the Knicks are the favorites, Dallas now could be in the mix for Chandler with this deal.
According to ESPN.com, the Knicks are hoping to bring back Anthony and add more players in free agency to start building a championship roster and two players that could be in the mix include Pau Gasol and Patty Mills. The Spurs guard is a free agent and Mills is coming off of a very solid playoffs run and now that he has the chance to cash in, he likely will be leaving San Antonio and the Knicks appear to be a destination for him. Gasol has connections to Phil Jackson and he could be a nice fit if he opts to leave the west coast and Los Angeles.
The Knicks come into the offseason after missing the playoffs and they have a main priority in signing Carmelo Anthony back if he opts out of his contract and everyone expects him to make that move. The Knicks went just 37-45 last season and that came after the team started off 3-13 and that basically ended any chance for the team to make the playoffs. The east was terrible and the team won 10 games in a row, but it was not good enough to make it into the playoffs and now Jackson is tasked with turning things around.
Anthony has officially opted out of his contract and now he will be getting pitches from a number of teams this offseason. The Mavericks are one team that is interested, while the Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, LA Lakers and NY Knicks all could be in the mix as well. ESPN also reported that if Tyson Chandler was traded, the Mavs would be the top option and that is a deal the team could try and pull off if they want to lure Melo to Texas. The free agency period starts up after next week and with the draft on Thursday, there will be plenty of intrigue in the NBA this summer.
