Free-agent big man Tyson Chandler has agreed to a deal with the Phoenix Suns, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It's a four-year contract worth $52 million, per ESPN's Marc Stein.
Chandler returned to the Dallas Mavericks during the 2014-15 season after a little more than two years with the New York Knicks. Entering his 15th season, the defensive stalwart was expected to be pursued by the Milwaukee Bucks and other teams this summer. Instead, he's going somewhere nobody had expected: Phoenix.
Chandler has been in the league since 2001, but he hasn't showed any signs of slowing down recently and expects to be in the NBA for a while longer -- he was reportedly hoping for a three-year deal. He's an anchor down low on the defensive side of the ball and can run a brilliant pick-and-roll with a capable point guard.
The Suns are reportedly using Chandler as a way to recruit LaMarcus Aldridge:
Sources: The Suns walked into meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge moments ago, armed with Tyson Chandler and his agreed upon multi-year contract.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 1, 2015
Last season, Chandler averaged 10.3 points and 11.5 rebounds in 30.5 minutes per game while shooting 67 percent from the field. Things didn't work out exactly as planned for Dallas after trading for Rajon Rondo during the season, but Chandler was still a big-time cog in the Dallas system that made it to the playoffs in the Western Conference.
The Suns already have Alex Len as their center of the future, making the addition of Chandler unexpected. That duo should be able to eat the majority of the team's minutes at the five, however, giving the team some serious stability with a young player and a veteran around.
Fitting Chandler into the salary cap will require Phoenix to renounce its rights to forward Brandan Wright, according to Zach Lowe of Grantland. He says Wright could be a target for the Mavericks as they sort out their frontcourt with Chandler no longer in the mix.
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