On Saturday, December 10th, Tyson Chandler made his official debut with the New York Knicks during the second day of training camp. With the ink barely dry on his newly signed contract, Chandler joined his teammates at Madison Square Garden Training Center. Â Read more after the jump.
The Knicks sent veteran center Ronny Turiaf, cash considerations and a 2013 second-round pick to Washington. They also dealt second-year guard Andy Rautins to the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas sent a second-round 2012 draft choice to Washington and the draft rights to Ahmad Nivins and Giorgos Printezis to New York. Washington also sent a future second round draft choice to Dallas.
In addition, to create enough cap space to sign Chandler, the Knicks waived veteran guardChauncey Billups, designating him as the club’s amnesty player. Billups and his $14.2 million contract will not count against the Knicks’ salary cap.
“This is an important day for the New York Knicks,” acting general manager Glen Grunwald said in a statement. “Signing a player of Tyson’s caliber, with championship experience, to this roster, is an opportunity we could not pass up.”
Chandler opted to sign with the Knicks after being heavily courted by the Golden State Warriorsand Houston Rockets, among other teams.
The sign-and-trade gives Dallas a sizeable trade exception.
The Knicks had to move Turiaf (scheduled to make $4.8 million this season) and Billups to create cap space to sign Chandler. According to the New York Times, the terms of Chandler’s deal are believed to be in the range of $58 million for four years.
The 7-foot-1 Chandler brings size and paint presence the Knicks have lacked in recent seasons.
“He brings everything that we didn’t have,” coach Mike D’Antoni said on Friday, before the deal was announced. “… We got a lot better, real quick.”
The Knicks will introduce Chandler in a formal news conference on Saturday afternoon.
He served as the defensive backbone for the NBA champion Mavericks last season, averaging 10.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 74 games. Chandler also finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
“We were looking for a center and Tyson Chandler’s a perfect fit for us,” Amare Stoudemire said. “It’s something we talked about doing when I first signed here … looking to build a championship-caliber team. And with the guys we have, we feel like we are on the right track.”
