The Phoenix Suns have a legitimate free agency pitch for LaMarcus Aldridge, but with the San Antonio Spurs and their championship culture in pursuit, general manager Ryan McDonough had a tough act to follow in his meeting with LMA today.
According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, however, McD came armed with something of a secret weapon to make things a little more interesting:
Tyson Chandler has agreed to a deal with the Suns, league source tells Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2015
The Suns are bringing Tyson Chandler into the meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge as part of their pitch, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2015
Woj reported the Tyson Chandler contract was a multiyear deal, while ESPN’s Marc Stein came in with the details:
ESPN sources say Tyson Chandler has agreed to a four-year deal with the Phoenix suns worth $52 million
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 1, 2015
On paper, $52 million seems like a lot. That’s $13 million a year for a 32-year-old center who has had some injury problems over the last couple of years. But Chandler played in 75 games last season while averaging 10.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game and shot nearly 67 percent from the floor, making him a huge upgrade on the glass and a potentially deadly threat in the pick-and-roll with Eric Bledsoe or Brandon Knight.
If anything, the four years might be the less favorable part of this contract, but the Suns are renowned for their warlock training staff, which has prolonged the careers and health of numerous aging stars like Steve Nash and Grant Hill. With Chandler being healthier than he’s been given credit for, one trip to Phoenix’s Lazarus Pits should have him playing well and staying healthy for years to come.
*Suns trainers walk into meeting*
— Robby Kalland (@RKalland) July 1, 2015
"Where's the coach? GM?"
"No need, Tyson. Drink this."
*drinks mystery drink*
"How you feel?"
"Amazing!"
There is the question of what this means for Alex Len, Phoenix’s 22-year-old center who made strides last season as a rim protector and potential stretch-5. But if Chandler helps the Suns in their free agency pitch with LaMarcus Aldridge, it’ll be well worth demoting Len to backup center duty until he’s fully ready to surpass Chandler in the starting rotation.
As for Brandan Wright, this means the Suns will have to renounce his rights. According to Grantland’s Zach Lowe, a double sign-and-trade involving the two former Dallas Mavericks centers and the Blazers could (possibly) be in order:
.@BobbyMarks42 I'm trying to figure out of PHX can pull a double s-and-t: Wright/Chandler, and LMA/whatever POR wants to match $. Head hurts
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 1, 2015
The Chandler signing is a bit of a surprise. He didn’t even make the top 10 in our list of free agency targets for the Phoenix Suns. But with secondary targets like DeMarre Carroll, Paul Millsap and Danny Green dropping off like flies, the Suns snagged a serviceable rebounder who will supply interior defense, veteran leadership and toughness on a team that badly needs help in all three areas. He’ll also serve as an awesome mentor for Len, assuming the Suns have no plans to trade him in the near future.
The Smoking Cuban
Chandler’s deal takes up all the open cap space for the Suns, so they’ll have to renounce the rights to Wright, Gerald Green and Marcus Thornton (which, on the last two, they were expected to do anyway).
If the addition of Chandler helps the Suns compete with San Antonio’s free agency pitch, even better. Aldridge is not particularly defensively inclined, so putting a defensive-minded center alongside LMA makes him a great theoretical fit.
McDonough may not land his star this summer, but it won’t be for lack of trying. His team will have major cap space to work with over the next two seasons and after agreeing to a five-year, $70 million extension with Brandon Knight earlier today, Phoenix has its young core locked in.
Maneuvering to trade for LaMarcus Aldridge could be tricky since the Suns would now have to free up around $20 million in cap space to sign him to a max deal after using all their remaining space on Chandler. But if Chandler is part of the free agency pitch, McDonough must have a plan to free up the necessary space to lock LMA in; one has to wonder if it involves trading P.J. Tucker and the Morris twins or Bledsoe.
According to the Arizona Republic’s Paul Coro, however, Bledsoe sat in on the meeting with the Chandler and Knight when the players met with Aldridge, so Bledsoe would almost certainly not be involved in a sign-and-trade scenario.
For the time being, McDonough isn’t heading into the 2015-16 season with nothing to show for it in the offseason.
As one source sagely explains: Suns certainly have player to appeal to PORT in sign-and-trade if LaMarcus Aldridge chooses PHX: Eric Bledsoe
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 1, 2015
Blazers GM Neil Olshey drafted Bledsoe for Clips. If Aldridge springs surprise & chooses Phoenix, Suns could offer Bledsoe in sign-and-trade
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 1, 2015
Next: Phoenix Suns: Top 10 Free Agency Targets