Phil Jackson finally struck his first major deal in the NBA on Wednesday, shipping Tyson Chandler and the troubled Raymond Felton to the Dallas Mavericks.
The New York Knicks will receive plenty back in the trade, as reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
As part of the trade, the Knicks will receive center Sam Dalembert and guards Jose Calderon,Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington and the Mavericks’ two second-round picks in Thursday’s NBA draft – the 34th and 51st overall selections, sources said.
Given Felton’s steep drop in production and the size of Chandler’s contract – along with his sudden disinterest in protecting the paint – the Knicks did well in bringing back players of value, but did even better in acquiring the all-valuable draft picks along the way. Jackson is looking to change the culture and system for New York, so bringing in Jose Calderon – an excellent point guard from an executing standpoint – is a nice start. Dalembert can get a tad goofy on the court at times, but can protect the rim with the best of them when his mind is right. The roster needed changes, and this is certainly a path in the right direction. The only question is whether Carmelo Anthony will believe a trade of this magnitude – decent but not franchise-altering by any means – will make enough of a difference for the Knicks to improve significantly come next season.
For team analyst Wally Szczerbiak over at MSG, the deal looked to be a sound decision by Jackson:
Bold move by Zenmaster! Tyson a tough fit for triangle and Raymond had to go. Calderon is a savvy winner and those 2nd rnd picks valuable.
— Wally Szczerbiak (@wallyball) June 26, 2014
Of course, Jackson will likely continue to look at the roster over the summer to see what other moves can be made to improve the team for next season. In the end, all of it comes down to what decision Anthony comes to before anything else can be done.
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James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.