Tyson Chandler is under contract with the New York Knicks through next season. At age 31, he has reached the point where the end of his NBA career is not that far away. If Phil Jackson’s plan with the Knicks is to free up cap space for the summer of 2015, that means Chandler is not part of the plan. He has no interest in waiting anyway.
“I definitely don’t want to waste another season,” Chandler told Marc Berman of the NY Post on Tuesday. “I don’t want to waste this season. I’m not into wasting seasons. Your time is too short in this league and I want to win a championship, another one. I’m not into wasting seasons.’’
Chandler was asked specifically how he would feel if Jackson’s plan has more to do with the future than the present.
“I’ll cross that bridge when it gets to that point,” he said. “I hope it’s not that situation. That decision isn’t going to be in my hands.”
All indications are that Jackson is looking to put his triangle offense into place in New York. Chandler gained experience playing in that type of system early on in his career with the Chicago Bulls. That said, he could also be dangled as a veteran trade piece who has one year and roughly $14 million remaining on his contract.
“I played (in the triangle offense) my first couple of years, but it was like a square because Phil wasn’t there,” Chandler said. “We ran it with Tim Floyd, then Bill Cartwright. It didn’t work out well, but we didn’t have the talent Phil had in Chicago.”
Of course, a lot of this will depend on Carmelo Anthony. Assuming Anthony opts out of his current deal, we need to wait and see if he will re-sign with the Knicks or head elsewhere. We also need to see if he is even part of Jackson’s future, or if Phil is going to look for a total overhaul over the next two years. If the latter is true, Chandler may have played his last game in New York.
