Milwaukee Bucks should be wary of Tyson Chandler in Eric Bledsoe talks

With the Phoenix Suns reportedly hoping to move Tyson Chandler in an Eric Bledsoe deal, the Milwaukee Bucks should be wary of the veteran’s contract if they remain engaged in trade talks.

As Eric Bledsoe’s future remains unresolved and the trade saga surrounding him continues, Milwaukee Bucks fans are left to wait and wonder about whether their team will act on their reported interest.

Although most of the debate from the Milwaukee side has centered around who shouldn’t be included in a Bucks offer — leading to a big sigh of relief when Malcolm Brogdon was reported as being off the table — there’s also plenty of reason to be wary about what comes back from Phoenix.

Adding a player of Eric Bledsoe’s caliber should be a win for whichever team ultimately closes a deal, but the Suns certainly have avenues to make interested teams think twice.

One such route was highlighted when it was reported by Marc Stein of the New York Times on Friday that the Suns are exploring options that include bundling Tyson Chandler in any outgoing Bledsoe deal.

As the Suns seek a new home via trade for Eric Bledsoe, they've explored trying to move Tyson Chandler in the same deal, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 27, 2017

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Chandler is a name that holds familiarity for even the NBA’s more casual fans, as a former All-Star, Defensive Player of the Year, and even an NBA Champion alongside Bucks coach Jason Kidd on the Dallas Mavericks.

Elite rebounding and strong defense inside immediately come to mind when you think of Chandler, but it’s important for the Bucks and every team with a vested interest in this deal to realize that the big man isn’t the player he once was.

Not only has Chandler spent a couple of years playing away from the NBA’s elite with the long-suffering Suns, but while he has done so Father Time has also continued to catch up on a player who arrived in the NBA straight out of high school way back in 2001.

Chandler is not only 35 years old, but between regular season and playoff action he has now logged over 31,600 NBA minutes at the league’s most physical position too. That places Chandler 18th on the list of most total minutes among active players, with only Dwight Howard ahead of him as a player who has spent all of his career at the center position.

All of that doesn’t automatically make acquiring a veteran big with immense experience a bad idea, though, and from that perspective, Chandler would be very desirable if not for his contract.

Chandler is owed $13 million this season, and a guaranteed $13.5 million next year before he hits free agency just before his 37th birthday. The center has only managed to play 70 games or more once since his championship winning season in Dallas, and that trend isn’t likely to reverse as he continues to age.

From the Bucks’ perspective, Chandler may seem appealing as an option for a team who are among the very worst rebounding squads in the NBA, but there’s no real logic to Chandler’s fit on either offense or defense.

Chandler’s deal commands the kind of money that may have been reserved for a player who could bring some instant offense off the bench — maybe even a re-up with Greg Monroe this summer — but on Milwaukee’s roster would leave an offensively limited and slow center who doesn’t fit with the energy and athleticism the Bucks like to utilize in transition.

Defensively, the fit is no better. Chandler could still be a very valuable defender in a more conservative scheme that allows the team’s defenders to sit back and use the veteran big as an anchor under the rim, but that couldn’t be further from how the Bucks play.

Asking a player of Chandler’s age and declining mobility to switch and be in constant movement defensively doesn’t seem remotely plausible, and at this juncture in his career he isn’t a defender worthy of restructuring a defense for like he once was either.

Very simply, if the Bucks are still using every available opportunity to look for ways to get off John Henson, Mirza Teletovic and Matthew Dellavedova‘s contracts, the last thing they need to do is add a deal that is demonstrably worse in exchange.

Next: Milwaukee Bucks: Examining Eric Bledsoe’s potential fit

Bledsoe could certainly offer a major talent upgrade for the Bucks, but doing so at a cost of even less financial flexibility would be a major mistake. With Jabari Parker‘s free agency upcoming, the Bucks don’t need to be further limited in their options due to an overpaid 35-year-old.

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