Thoughts on the Chandler Trade

By now I'm sure you have the heard the big news that Tyson Chandler is once again a Dallas Maverick. The Mavs will acquire Chandler along with point guard Raymond Felton for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington and the numbers 34 and 51 picks in tomorrow's draft.
My initial reaction to the trade: HELL YES!
Dallas gets back the center who helped them win the 2011 title to once again anchor a defense that needed desperately to improve. Now the Mavs once again have an elite defender at the most important position defensively. Although their is always injury risk with Chandler, he is only signed for this year, and the injuries he has suffered over the last couple years appear to be just flukes and not indicative of any long term issues.
Felton is a player who wore out his welcome in New York but should be better with a change of scenery. I would not expect him to start here, that will probaly be Devin Harris or another player, but Felton can be a perfectly acceptable backup.
As for the players the Mavs give up, obviously Calderon is the toughest one to stomach. However he still had 3 years left on his deal, and although he is tremendous asset on offense, he can be a liability on the other end of the court, especially when paired with Monta. Larkin may still yet be a player but hasn't proven anything yet and 2nd round picks are nice to have but rarely turn into much.
So does this mean the Mavs decision to let Chandler go to New York in the first place was a mistake? Not necessarily. Tim McMahon does a good job of explaining why in his article here.
All in all this a trade that improves the team in the short term and makes the team more attractive to prospective free-agents (are you listening Carmelo). It also doesn't not sacrifice the team's future in any major way, as they are only adding an additional 5 million dollars in salary. What's not to like?

Mavs Draft Targets

A look at potential players that might interest the Mavs with the 35th overall pick.

Cleanthony Early
SF Wichita State
A versatile all-around player who can score both inside and outside. Known for toughness and physical play.

Mitch McGary
PF-C Michigan
A key contributor to Michigan's 2013 NCAA finalist, McGary missed all of last season with a back injury and then was forced to declare for the draft after being suspended for a year for a positive marijuana test. Has excellent mobility and energy for a big man.Can impact the game on both ends.

C.J. Wilcox
SG Washington
An excellent shooter who has the athleticism to be a good defender. A rare four year college player.

Nikola Jokic
PF Serbia
A skilled big man who can shoot and pass the ball. Lacks athleticism that hurts him on the defensive end.

Khem Birch
PF UNLV
A talented athlete who can rebound, block shots and run the floor. Very raw on offense where he lacks shooting range and struggles handling the ball.

Bogdan Bogdanovic
SG Serbia
A talented shooter who can handle the ball and see the floor. Defense need work however. Might stay in Europe for another year or two.

3 Years Ago Today

NBA Finals Preview

Miami Heat (54-28, 12-3) vs. 

San Antonio Spurs (62-20, 12-6) 

Heat Finals History
2006: Beat the Mavericks 4-2
2011: Lost to the Mavericks 2-4
2012: Beat the Thunder 4-1
2013: Beat the Spurs 4-3

Spurs Finals History
1999: Beat the Knicks 4-1
2003: Beat the Nets 4-2
2005: Beat the Pistons 4-3
2007: Beat the Cavaliers 4-0
2013: Lost to the Heat, 3-4

Positional Matchups

Point Guard
Even if he is not 100% Tony Parker can still be a matchup nightmare for any point guard. The Heat don't ask a lot of of their point guards, but when they do Mario Chalmers is usually there to deliver and is not afraid of the big moment.
Advantage: Spurs

Shooting Guard
Danny Green is in the perfect system for his talents, as he is asked to do what he does best: make a lot of open threes. While Dwyane Wade is no longer in his prime, he is still among the top players in the league when healthy, which he appears to be now.
Advantage: Heat

Small Forward
Kawhi Leonard has become one of the best two-way players in the league and gives the Spurs the athletic stopper they need to guard the league best wings. He of course will have his hands full this series with the world's greatest player, aka LeBron James, who's mental game has reached the same level as his physical gifts.
Advantage: Heat

Power Forward
Assuming both teams stay with the starting lineups they finished the conference finals with both teams will start a similar-type player at the 4 spot. Matt Bonner and Rashard Lewis will both be out there to spread the floor, but it was Lewis who was the one actually putting the ball in the hoop in the last round.
Advantage: Heat

Center
Even at 38, Tim Duncan is a matchup nightmare inside for any team, let alone for the smaller Heat. Chris Bosh has adjusted his game by playing farther out from the basket, hitting his most threes in a season by far, which gives better driving lanes for LeBron an Wade.
Advantage: Spurs

Bench
The Spurs one again feature one the league's better 2nd units led by the amazing Manu Ginobili. The continued career renaissance of Boris Diaw along with the emergence of Patty Mills make this perhaps the Spurs' best bench yet. The Heat bring strong reserves of their own led by the league's best ever from behind the three point stripe, Ray Allen, whose shot that tied Game 6 last year kept the Spurs from another championship. Chris "Birdman" Andersen and Norris Cole come in to the game to ratchet up the intensity and bring the Heat's vaunted defensive pressure to another level.
Advantage: Spurs

Coaching
This series will once again pit two of the league's best coaching minds. Gregg Popovich is one of the all-time great coaches in any sport, and showed why again this year as he won his third Coach of the Year award. Eric Spoelstra might not get the credit Pop does but he has done a remarkable job of his own as he has pushed the right buttons in leading his team to a 4th consecutive Finals appearance.
Advantage: Spurs

Prediction
To me this series is about as even as it gets. Last's year Finals was an all-time classic and I expect another nail-biting series this time around. I think what swings this series is what has swung a lot of Finals matchups: The Heat have the best player on the planet and the Spurs don't. At this point it's hard to bet against Lebron. His team has won 11 playoff series in a row for a reason and while he will see many different defensive looks from the Spurs, like last year he will in the end figure them out.
Heat in 6