Report: Knicks and Mavericks close to big trade

[xgamr]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11135 ... ork-knicks

damn that would be big

[Everlong]

Looks like it's official.

The Dallas Mavericks have reacquired center Tyson Chandler from the New York Knicks, sources have confirmed to ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Jeff Goodman.

The Mavericks, who immediately made reacquiring Chandler one of their priorities after their first-round playoff exit against San Antonio, have completed a trade with the Knicks that was clinched by agreeing to take back the contract of New York's out-of-favor guard Raymond Felton as well.

The trade cost Dallas two starters -- point guard Jose Calderon and center Samuel Dalembert -- along with prized young point guard Shane Larkin, reserve guard Wayne Ellington and the 34th and 51st picks in Thursday's draft.

The deal was first reported by Stein.

Chandler is the player Dallas has missed most since it decided to let go several key contributors in free agency after the team's championship run in 2011.

Chandler, 31, wound up landing a four-year, $60 million deal in free agency with the Knicks that year, a deal that has one season remaining.

The departures of Chandler and Felton are believed to be just the start of a roster overhaul by new Knicks president Phil Jackson, with Jackson pursing as much salary-cap flexibility as he can in the hopes of convincing star free-agent-to-be Carmelo Anthony to stay.

Information from ESPN.com's Marc Stein was used in this report.

[Ali]

The last time LeBron James became a free agent and the Mavs traded for a contract-year Tyson Chandler, we won the NBA Championship. Hmmm....

I like this move, I think it helps us a lot. Tyson knows Carlisle's system, pairs well with Dirk, and knows the training staff, which is one of if not the best in the NBA. We can keep him healthy, I'm not too worried about that.

Raymond Felton is a wild-card. I don't know where his head's at, I don't even know if he'll ever wear a Mavs uniform. He could be gone in a draft-day deal tomorrow.

I did like Jose Calderon in Dallas, I thought he was an excellent passer and 3-point shooter, but his contract was kind of bloated. Dalembert was kind of all over the map, he'd be good some days, lazy others, it was weird. Larkin was promising, but I'm not too upset at losing him. Ellington never got playing time here anyway, so, meh.

There is one other thing in play here: The Melo Factor. Tyson Chandler is very good friends with Carmelo Anthony, and Dallas is on the mythical list of places Melo would consider. Could Chandler's familiarity with Carlisle, Nowitzki, and Anthony be the magic piece that brings them all together? It's certainly a possibility now.

[Philip Rivers]

Carmelo isn't going to play with Raymond Felton, we need to get Loul Deng...he'd be a good fit with us, I don't want Felton though...at all. We're trying to get back to this defensive mind-set.

[SKS]

I think this a great deal for the Knicks, surprising

[Philip Rivers]

The last time LeBron James became a free agent and the Mavs traded for a contract-year Tyson Chandler, we won the NBA Championship. Hmmm....

I like this move, I think it helps us a lot. Tyson knows Carlisle's system, pairs well with Dirk, and knows the training staff, which is one of if not the best in the NBA. We can keep him healthy, I'm not too worried about that.

Raymond Felton is a wild-card. I don't know where his head's at, I don't even know if he'll ever wear a Mavs uniform. He could be gone in a draft-day deal tomorrow.

I did like Jose Calderon in Dallas, I thought he was an excellent passer and 3-point shooter, but his contract was kind of bloated. Dalembert was kind of all over the map, he'd be good some days, lazy others, it was weird. Larkin was promising, but I'm not too upset at losing him. Ellington never got playing time here anyway, so, meh.

There is one other thing in play here: The Melo Factor. Tyson Chandler is very good friends with Carmelo Anthony, and Dallas is on the mythical list of places Melo would consider. Could Chandler's familiarity with Carlisle, Nowitzki, and Anthony be the magic piece that brings them all together? It's certainly a possibility now.

Tyson isn't what he was back for us in 11, lets face that. I know a shit load of Knick fans and they complained about his lack of effort getting boards and playing defense. Perhaps coming back can give him a bit of a rejuvenation, he does pair well with Dirk. Hopefully we can get Deng and make another good move....Felton though, ugh.

[Ali]

I would say that there's an 80% chance that Raymond Felton is not on the Dallas Mavericks roster when the season starts.

[Str8Shooter]

I think this a great deal for the Knicks, surprising

I'm not so sure it's a great deal for them. Sure they shed the contract of Chandler and get rid of dead weight in Felton. But what they're bringing back isn't a game changer. I like Calderon but he's a turnstile defensively and is aging a bit. Dalembert is a downgrade from Chandler at center. The two picks are second rounders and likely won't be huge additions.

Dallas brings Chandler back and it wouldn't surprise me if Ali is right and they're going to try and take a run at Carmelo. Mark Cuban loves to make the big splash and it seems like for years he'd been trying to bring big name free agents in, from Lebron to Dwight.

[Ali]

Also, on Felton... Lamar Kardashian aside, Dallas is pretty good at making supposed "problem" players into rehabilitation projects. Brandan Wright was a draft bust, Monta Ellis was an overrated chucker, hell, Tyson Chandler was an injury-prone risk when the Mavs initially acquired him. Mike James and OJ Mayo had decent seasons under Rick Carlisle's coaching, for crying out loud!

Environment has a lot to do with how players are. It could be that Chandler and Felton were in a toxic environment under James Dolan and Mike Woodson. If any coach in the NBA can whip Raymond Felton into shape... it's Gregg Popovich, but a close second is Rick Carlisle.

[Philip Rivers]

Also, on Felton... Lamar Kardashian aside, Dallas is pretty good at making supposed "problem" players into rehabilitation projects. Brandan Wright was a draft bust, Monta Ellis was an overrated chucker, hell, Tyson Chandler was an injury-prone risk when the Mavs initially acquired him. Mike James and OJ Mayo had decent seasons under Rick Carlisle's coaching, for crying out loud!

Environment has a lot to do with how players are. It could be that Chandler and Felton were in a toxic environment under James Dolan and Mike Woodson. If any coach in the NBA can whip Raymond Felton into shape... it's Gregg Popovich, but a close second is Rick Carlisle.

If anything Ellis was underrated for most of his time, he used to drop 25 ppg with some great efficiency. Chucking days blossomed in a Bucks jersey, for the most part though, we knew what talent was there and what he was capable of. Bucks is where talent goes to die...

A lot of people report Melo to not like Felton, him and Chandler weren't best friends either towards the end of the season, these additions aren't eye popping. Dirk going to be shouldering another load, back at it again.