Getty Tyson Chandler of the Los Angeles Lakers plays the Denver Nuggets.
The Los Angeles Lakers desperately needed to bring on help down low last season and Tyson Chandler proved to be the perfect remedy – at least early on. The Lakers went 13-4 through Chandler’s first 17 games, with Chandler pairing up alongside JaVale McGee to ensure the Lakers had a hard-nosed defender and screen setter on the floor at all times.
Unfortunately, Chandler would battle injuries throughout the rest of the season and proved unable to handle the extremely heavy workload the Lakers threw his way. Chandler has publicly come out to say he wants to play one more season and at his age, would almost certainly be taking a minimum contract – something very appealing to the Lakers.
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Should the Lakers Bring Back Big Man Tyson Chandler in Free Agency?
There really isn’t a reason not to bring back Chandler in free agency. Unless he wants to go ring chasing in his final season and find a new team, the Lakers could use his veteran locker room presence and he’s shown to be more than capable of providing strong minutes off the bench in small doses. Especially for a team filled with so many young players (unless they get traded for Anthony Davis), the presence of someone like Chandler goes a long ways towards helping establish a level of professionalism in the organization.
It is unrealistic to sign Chandler to a minimum deal and expect 20 minutes a night of high caliber play but as a depth and culture piece alone, the Lakers could do much worse. It also doesn’t hurt they can afford to bring him on for the minimum even after they go over the salary cap trying to sign a max free agent.
Lakers Tyson Chandler Offseason Updates
Aside from mentioning in his end of the season press conference that he wants to play one more year, Chandler has been fairly quiet this offseason so far. While Chandler isn’t as big of a social media aficionado as some of his younger Laker teammates, since the season ended, the only thing we’ve seen out of Chandler was a long tweet saying simply “Wow” posted moments after Damian Lillard‘s series-ending buzzer-beater against the Thunder.
Wow 😲
Aside from the Lakers, there look to be a number of other teams that could benefit from Chandler’s experience. While he may prefer to go ring chasing on a playoff-ready team like Golden State, Milwaukee, or Toronto, teams with young big men will likely be some of his biggest suitors. A return to the Mavericks could be a potential option as he would serve as a veteran role model to young stars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.