In this Knicks news and rumors update, former New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler has decided to fire back at the Knicks after reports of him causing internal problems for the team last season leaked to the public.
Chandler was traded with Raymond Felton to the Dallas Mavericks in June as part of New York Knicks president Phil Jackson's effort to "change some of the chemistry" on the team. As evidenced by his pointed words on Friday, Chandler took that statement as a personal affront.
Courtesy of ESPN's Tim MacMahon:
"I did nothing but try to help the culture there the three years I was there. You can say I didn't live up to whatever or you didn't like the way I played or anything. But to ever question who I am and the type of leader I am in the locker room, I don't even know where that came from.
"I honestly don't know where that came from. I don't know if Phil put that out there or who put that out there, but to me, that was the ultimate shock. And you don't have to say that to get rid of me or to trade me. The trade is over.
"So to judge my character and what I've done, you can go look at all my teammates and ask all of my teammates in the past, and the coaches I've played for, and I've never been a problem and never had a problem. So that was a shock to me that I didn't appreciate."
Chandler believes that it was his hardline approach towards dealing with other players that might have caught the ire of some in the locker room.
"It makes no sense. If you call holding people accountable daily being a bad influence, then hey, I'm a bad influence. But I'm going to be that as long as I'm going to strap up my shoes and step on the basketball court. And that was the big problem there."
Whatever the situation was (and it likely had partly to do with public criticism that Chandler levied at the team throughout the 2013-14 season), it would be wise to circle November 26th's Mavericks/Knicks game on the calendar for the sake of watching this bubbling subplot come to a boil.
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