Tyson Chandler wants to say in Dallas. And the Mavericks want him back. In June, Rick Carlisle said:
“I don’t need to overstate his importance. We’ll do everything possible to [re-sign him]. Tyson Chandler changed our season on a lot of levels. It wasn’t just his play, it was his enthusiasm, his energy.
“He just brought a certain exuberance to our locker room, and he got other guys on board with keeping each other accountable.”
At the time, Chandler said he was leaving things to his agent to go celebrate. That, apparently, didn’t work out so well.
In late June, after the title, the Mavericks had a period when they could have negotiated a new contract with you before the lockout. What happened?
We talked about getting something done before the lockout, but it just didn’t happen. … we were so far apart, we might as well not have even met.
Who knows what the opening offers were. Chandler made $12.6 million last season in Dallas, which is a lot of money even for a guy with the impact Tyson Chandler had on the Mavs. However, with the bar set so high for big men, it’s hard to argue that he’s worth much less. Chandler’s camp will walk in with Kendrick Perkins’ $7.3 million contract number for the theoretical 2011-12 season and start negotiating from there.
I’m not trying to open a can of worms here comparing the two guys. I’m just saying that’s where the negotiations will start (or somewhere around there) because that’s how negotiations go. The new rules will obviously have an effect on how things progress, but ultimately both sides will probably do what they can to hammer out a deal to keep Chandler where he is. He’s established a nice role for himself in Dallas as a team leader and an impact player, even if that impact takes a little statistical digging to find sometimes.
Other takeaways from the interview:
Chandler would listen to overseas offers
Brian Cardinal is a shady character (not really)
Eddy Curry should have been a top three player in the league (yes, as in the number between two and four)
There’s a lot more. Check it out on TrueHoop
