Phoenix Suns center Tyson Chandler. (Photo : Getty Images)
This season is obviously a forgettable one for the Phoenix Suns as evidenced by their current dismal 14-36 record, which is only better than the Los Angeles Lakers' Western Conference-worst 9-41 slate. Because of that, head coach Jeff Hornacek was recently fired and a major roster shakeup seems to be next in the horizon for the desert squad.
One of the trade pieces that Phoenix is rumored to be shopping before the Feb. 18 trade deadline is its veteran starting center, Tyson Chandler, who Inquisitr noted "has lost a lot of value during his first season with the Suns".
Chandler had just signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Suns in July of last year that is set to earn him an average of $13 million per year. Phoenix gave him such a deal in hopes of making him the team's defensive anchor for years to come, but the expectations have not been met so far.
Yahoo Sports reported that the Suns are trying to trade Chandler before the deadline mainly because of the management's plan to create enough salary cap space for the forthcoming free agency this summer of 2016 to potentially rebuild the team.
However, it was also noted that "the demand for the 33-year-old Chandler is low" as there had been no team who has expressed any interest on receiving the 2012 NBA Defensive Player of the Year awardee and his massive salary.
An incoming free-agency class that is deep in the center position does not help Chandler's trade value to increase in any way, and adding his present poor performance "has many teams wary of acquiring that contract".
The second overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft is not enthused about leaving Phoenix, though, saying that he is "not jumping ship", but admits that ultimately it is not up to him if he will stay or not.
"If the organization decides to move me or something like that, then clearly that's something that's out of my control. But I came here and I came here for a reason," Chandler said, via ESPN.
"I thought it was a young, promising team, and I wanted to be a part of helping turn this around and go to the next level. I still feel like I'm capable of doing that, and I feel like this organization is capable of doing that. It's just clearly some things have to change," he added.
