Tyson Chandler believes Knicks will be attractive for free agents
The Lakers' Tyson Chandler dunks over the Heat's Rodney McGruder during the first half of a game Monday in Los Angeles. Credit: AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Former Knick Tyson Chandler likes what is happening at Madison Square Garden.
Chandler, now a reserve center with the Lakers who faced the Nets in Brooklyn Tuesday night, played three years with the Knicks beginning with the 2011-12 season. He has seen the Garden during its rare recent good times for basketball – the Knicks went to the playoffs in two of his three seasons – and he believes the team is on the verge of having good things happen again.
“I like David Fizdale. I like what he’s doing,” Chandler said of the Knicks' first-year coach. “I honestly think it’s a matter of time. I think they have the potential to land a big-time free agent to pair with [Kristaps] Porzingis and after that it could be a matter of time.”
Chandler believes the Knicks can attract a marquee free agent because the perception of the team has changed around the league.
“It’s definitely changed,” he said. “You have some good guys over there. That always helps. The Knicks went through a tough time. The Phil Jackson era was a tough time. Before that was a tough time. Then, when me and [Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire] were there, it was a fun time. They just have to get back to that again. It just takes one little piece to switch things up.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
