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Grading the Tyson Chandler Trade

In the first trade of the NBA offseason, the New York Knicks sent Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to the Dallas Mavericks for four players and two draft picks. Jose Calderon and Sam Dalembert, both starters for Dallas last season, are among those headed to New York. 

Let’s breakdown and grade this semi blockbuster from the aspect of each team.

Dallas Mavericks

Tyson Chandler: The All-NBA defender rejoins Dallas after spending two seasons in New York. He averaged 8.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game during the 2013-2014 season and is due $15.1 million in the final year of his contract. He will join Dirk Nowitzki and potentially Shawn Marion in the Mavericks frontcourt this upcoming season.

Raymon Felton: It’s too early to say whether Felton will be the Mavericks starter heading into the 2013-2014 season, but he’s definitely a downgrade from Calderon at the point guard position. It was a move the Mavericks had to make if they wanted to add the elite defender in Chandler. Felton is due $3.8 million next year and has a player option for 2015-2016. 

New York Knicks

Two Second-Round Picks: Phil Jackson and the Knicks picked up the 34th and 51st picks in the draft today. Considering that they were contemplating purchasing a first-round pick, these are two solid assets to pick up. In addition to that, the Knicks could very well use a couple young bench options for the upcoming seasons.

Shane Larkin: After being selected by Dallas in the first round last June, Larkin split time between the Developmental League and NBA. He averaged just 2.8 points and about 10 minutes per game for the “big league” squad. While it wasn’t necessarily a successful rookie campaign for Larkin, he provides tremendous upside down the road. Acquiring him in this deal was big.

Jose Calderon: Yet another solid acquisition for Jackson and the Knicks. Calderon fits the “Triangle Offense,” which Derek Fisher promises to implement in 2014-2015, to a T. Calderon averaged 11.4 points and 4.7 assists per game last season. He also shot 46 percent from the field and 45 percent from three-point range. The 32-year-old point guard is set to earn over $7 million in each of the next three seasons. That’s the only real question mark here.

Sam Dalembert: It’s likely that Dalembert will not be a member of the Knicks next season. He’s only guaranteed $1.8 million in the final year of his deal. Then again, the Knicks could decide to keep him on for some frontcourt bench depth. Dalembert started 68 games, averaging 6.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this past season.

Wayne Ellington: A former first-round pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2009, Ellington has taken the road more traveled during his NBA career. New York will be his fifth team in six seasons. He averaged less than nine minutes per game last season, but did put up 10.4 points per game for the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2012-2013. He’s due nearly $2.8 million, all guaranteed, next year. 

Final Grades

Dallas: A-

New York: A

All contract information provided by Spotrac.com 

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