Free agent big man Tyson Chandler sent shockwaves around the NBA galaxy Wednesday, agreeing to a 4-year, $52 million deal with the Phoenix Suns. The deal comes as a major surprise as the seven-foot center was largely expected to either remain with the Mavericks or head to the L.A. Clippers depending on what happened with DeAndre Jordan. But GM Ryan McDonough bypassed the waiting game and swooped in for the kill, landing a commitment from Chandler just minutes after locking up guard Brandon Knight on a 5-year, $70 million deal. Now a Suns team that thought it might have to hit the reset button after witnessing its Goran Dragic/Eric Bledsoe/Isaiah Thomas experiment do its best impression of Kaputnik is poised to be dangerous out West again, and a lot of it boils down to the Chandler acquisition.
Phoenix has long lacked a formidable interior presence to set the tone down low. Even dating back to the hallowed days of Mike D’Antoni’s “Seven Seconds Or Less” Suns, the team had Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw riding shotgun in the post in lieu of a traditional center. The problem only got worse over the years and it was particularly bad in 2014-15 as Phoenix allowed opponents to shoot 59.0 percent from inside of five feet (11th-worst in the league) and got outrebounded by 2.1 boards per game on average (6th-worst in the league). Alex Len’s development hasn’t progressed as the Suns have liked and, while the acquisition of Brandan Wright was nice, it was more like placing a Band-Aid over a water main break: a temporary, not-too-great solution to a serious problem.
Enter Chandler.
Though not much of a threat outside of the restricted area or with his back to the basket, the 32-year-old essentially provides every other tangible skill you’d want out of a big man. Chandler grabbed 11.5 rebounds per game last year, proving once again to be one of the best in the league at securing contested defensive rebounds and his patented tap-outs on the offensive glass. He’s an impact presence in the painted area that spooks away basket attackers like a scarecrow on a sparrow-infested patio. Chandler is respected as one of the most feared rim protectors in the league, and while his still-respectable 50.9 percent allowed on field goals at the rim last season was a regression for him, it’s a number that was artificially deflated thanks to playing next to the aging, laterally cinderblock-footed Dirk Nowitzki and having to cover for the German’s defensive lapses. Playing next to a much more capable defender in Markieff Morris next year, I fully expect Chandler to return to elite levels of rim protection for the Suns, which would be huge for a team lacking defensive identity and interior toughness.
As for Chandler’s impact on offense for the Suns, it has the potential to be enormous as well. The big man is still one of the most devastating roll men in the Association, boasting a prime conversion rate around the rim (74.6 percent from 0-3 feet last year), as his hard rolls suck in help defenders from all over the floor and open up looks for shooters and driving lanes. He is destructive on the catch, and while he may have lost some of his athleticism with age, his agility for a seven-footer is still impeccable. You know, part of the reason the point guard triumvirate experiment in Phoenix failed was because they never had an intimidating big man to work with in the pick-and-roll, the cornerstone of the NBA offense. Now that the Suns are ready to try it again in a new incarnation with Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, and possibly lottery pick Devin Booker, Chandler’s presence down low, diving towards the rim with no regard for human life, is sure to bring out the best in them.
For Phoenix Suns fans, it’s hard not to be excited about the acquisition of Tyson Chandler who will give them a grit and a two-way interior presence they have long been without. Though Chandler’s deal runs until he is 36 and he’ll probably be emulating the Marcus Camby arc real good by the end of it, in the meantime, he’s about to prove that a guy who was relegated to a free agency backup plan by most teams still has a lot left to offer.
*Stats courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball Reference*
