The New York Knicks acquired a major upgrade at point guard at the expense of their starting center in a six-player trade with the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
The trade sends Jose Calderon to New York along with center Samuel Dalembert, wing Wayne Ellington, point guard Shane Larkin and the 34th and 51st picks in Thursday’s NBA Draft in exchange for center Tyson Chandler and point guard Raymond Felton.
Chandler returns to Dallas, where he won a championship with the 2010-2011 Mavs. He was traded that offseason to the Knicks and won the league’s defensive player of the year award the next season.
Chandler is still a strong defensive presence, but not as strong as he once was. Chandler broke his leg in the third game of the season last year and was limited to 55 games played in 2013-2014.
His defensive rating of 106 was his worst mark since the 2008-2009 season and contributed to the Knicks ranking 24th in the league with 109.1 points allowed per 100 possessions. Chandler is still one of the most offensively efficient players in the NBA after scoring 120 points per 100 possessions last season, which would have put him in the top 10 in the league had he been eligible, and his net-rating of 14 means he’s still an asset on the court.
Dallas hopes Chandler, who has one year and just over $14.5 million left on his contract, can help the team improve its lackluster defensive numbers from a season ago.
The Mavericks finished 20th in scoring defense and 22nd in points allowed per 100 possessions last season, but it will be Chandler’s well-known ability to protect the rim that Rick Carlisle’s team will benefit from the most.
| Mavs FG D | Number | League Rank |
| > 5 feet | 61.6 | 27 |
| 5-9 feet | 40.6 | 24 |
Dallas allowed the fourth highest field goal percentage on shots within five feet of the basket during the regular season, according to NBA.com, something Chandler could possibly remedy. New York’s field goal defense from within five feet ranked 13th last season.
Chandler’s locker in New York was right next to Carmelo Anthony’s, and his departure may not sit well with the free agent superstar forward. However, Anthony could be heartened by the Knicks’ new starting point guard.
To obtain Chandler, the Mavs sent Calderon over to New York. The Knicks should be delighted with Calderon’s pass-first play along with marksmanship from three that’s rarely seen at the point guard position.
Calderon’s 15.2 PER last season was his lowest total since his rookie season of 2005-2006, and his assists per game and assist percentage were both nearly career lows. Part of that could be playing with Monta Ellis, another point guard, in the backcourt and perhaps the freedom of being the primary ballhandler will boost those numbers back up.
Where Calderon really excels is from 3-point range. He shot 44.9 percent from downtown last season, fourth in the league and tops among point guards, after leading the league in 3-point percentage in 2012-2013.
Check out just how good he is from three:
He’s above average from every spot on the floor from 3-point range, including 40-for-77 (52 percent) from the corners. That ability to shoot and distribute should really help the Knicks next season, especially in the triangle offense ran by new head coach Phil Jackson Derek Fisher.
The only problem is the length of Calderon’s contract, which will pay him just over $22 million over the next three seasons.
The benefit is that the Knicks rid themselves of Felton, who was so beyond dreadful last season it was criminal. And then he turned out to be a criminal as well.
Felton shot under 40 percent from the field and his 12.9 PER last season was a career low. It was clear that he needed to get away from the Knicks and perhaps a point guard unit of Felton, Devin Harris and Gal Mekel will be adequate next season.
Dalembert shot 56.8 percent from the field last season and had the best offensive rating, 117, of his career last season but he only played 20.2 minutes per game in 2013-2014 and at age 33, those minutes could decrease next season. Dalembert’s contract next season is also partially guaranteed, which means the Knicks could just elect to release him.
New York also acquired Larkin, 21, the 18th pick in last year’s draft who suffered from injury and inefficiency in his rookie season. Ellington is a 3-point specialist who knocked down 42.4 percent of his threes last season.
The Knicks also receive a pair of second-round picks that will allow them to get cheap assets going forward.
Shlomo Sprung is a national columnist for SheridanHoops who loves advanced statistics and the way they explain what happens on the court. He is also the web editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. A 2011 graduate of Columbia University’s Journalism School, he has previously worked for the New York Knicks, The Sporting News, Business Insider and other publications. You should follow him on Twitter.