Tyson Chandler put up with enough nonsense from the Knicks. (USATSI)
On Friday, Mavericks center Tyson Chandler fired back at allegations from the Knicks over the summer that the veteran was a chemistry problem for the Knicks last year in an interview with ESPN Dallas, an allegation not unlike saying the Hindenburg had a problem with cupholders.
Chandler was traded back to Dallas this summer for Jose Calderon and filler, in part to remove the salary from the remainder of his contract he signed with New York in 2011.
And the fire, it did rise.
"I did nothing but try to help the culture there the three years I was there," Chandler said Friday. "You can say I didn't live up to whatever or you didn't like the way I played or anything. But to ever question who I am and the type of leader I am in the locker room, I don't even know where that came from.
"I honestly don't know where that came from. I don't know if Phil put that out there or who put that out there, but to me, that was the ultimate shock. And you don't have to say that to get rid of me or to trade me. The trade is over.
"So to judge my character and what I've done, you can go look at all my teammates and ask all of my teammates in the past, and the coaches I've played for, and I've never been a problem and never had a problem. So that was a shock to me that I didn't appreciate."
"It makes no sense," Chandler said. "If you call holding people accountable daily being a bad influence, then hey, I'm a bad influence. But I'm going to be that as long as I'm going to strap up my shoes and step on the basketball court. And that was the big problem there.
"That's the biggest thing. I guess if that's why I was a bad influence, because I wanted to do things the right way, then I guess I'm a bad influence. But I've never heard of that. I thought that was being a professional."
"You can go to any of the staff members or anybody and ask them what kind of guy I was when I was there, and if I was the guy who was pushing for what is right all the time and they would tell you so," Chandler said. "That more than anything in my career caught me off guard. I can stomach somebody saying he didn't produce or whatever, and that's just motivation. But a shot at someone's character or professionalism, that's a little far-fetched."
via Tyson Chandler says character allegations wrong - ESPN Dallas.
Here's what Jackson told reporters after the trade before last June's draft:
New York Knicks president Phil Jackson said one of the reasons he wanted to ship Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to the Dallas Mavericks was to "change some of the chemistry" of his team.
"To do that we felt (it was) important to bring in some new personnel and start with some character guys that we feel can carry this forward," Jackson said on Thursday evening.
In Jackson's first major trade as president, he sent Felton and Chandler to Dallas for point guard Jose Calderon, guard Shane Larkin, center Samuel Dalembert, forward Wayne Ellington and two second-round selections in Thursday night's draft.
Jackson, who took over as team president in March, said he could see chemistry issues between Knicks players last season. The team finished with just 37 wins and missed the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.
"Watching them play I saw guys that looked at each other like, 'You didn't back me up, you weren't here when I needed help,' " Jackson said. "There just wasn't the right combination or feel (where) it felt like everybody was in synch all the time."
via Phil Jackson says he made trade to address New York Knicks' chemistry issues - ESPN New York.
The comments flew under the radar because, honestly, this is how Jackson operates. He won't come out and just say something, he'll just drop hints. And throwing Chandler under the bus doesn't hurt him at all with Chandler on his way to Dallas.
Bear in mind, this is consumate professional, NBA champion, and former Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler. The New York Knicks still employ J.R. Smith. And you want to look at trading Chandler and saying "Hey, we improved the chemistry?"
Chandler has a right to feel offended here. Jackson could have talked about future flexibility, about a need to get younger, about fitting the team to the system, about trying to find their way into a draft pick for the Knicks for the first time in years. Jackson's always been great about building chemistry with his drum-beating, and book clubs, and other nonsense, but the biggest asset to him has always been the fact that he's had elite talent to work with.
Jackson's new to the field of general manager. But he knows what he's doing. In a business where so often there is retribution and repercussions in the backrooms and phone calls involving league affairs, Chandler's agent, and the other agents, would do well to notice what went on here and how Chandler paid the price for whatever it was Jackson wanted to accomplish here.
HT: Reddit
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