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New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has acquired center Tyson Chandler via sign-and-trade as part of a three-team trade. Ronny Turiaf, cash considerations and a 2013 second-round draft choice has been sent to the Washington Wizards and Andy Rautins has been sent to Dallas; Dallas sent a 2012 second-round draft choice to Washington and the draft rights to Ahmad Nivins and Giorgos Printezis to New York; Washington sent a conditional future second-round draft choice to Dallas.
“This is an important day for the New York Knicks,” Grunwald said. “Signing a player of Tyson’s caliber, with championship experience, to this roster, is an opportunity we could not pass up. His stellar play last season earned him league-wide recognition and helped lead his team to an NBA Championship.”
Chandler, 7-1, 225-pounds, holds career averages of 8.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.35 blocks and 27.6 minutes in 662 games (465 starts) over 10 NBA seasons with Chicago, New Orleans, Charlotte and Dallas. He played a pivotal role in leading the Mavericks to the franchise’s first ever NBA title last season, averaging 8.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 0.90 blocks in 21 postseason contests. In 74 regular season games (all starts), he averaged 10.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.08 blocks over 74 games (74 starts) en route to NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors.
“Tyson will be the anchor to our defense,” Head Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “The trio of Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson makes one of the most formidable frontlines in the entire league.”
The Hanford, CA-native was originally selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round (second overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft prior to having his draft rights traded to Chicago with Brian Skinner in exchange for Elton Brand. He appeared in 53 postseason games (37 starts) and holds averages of 7.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.10 blocks over 28.7 minutes. He also represented Team USA in both the 2007 and 2010 FIBA World Championships, winning Gold medals with both squads.
Rautins, 6-4, 205-pounds, averaged 1.6 points 4.8 minutes in five games during his rookie campaign. He was selected by New York in the second round (38th overall) of 2010 NBA Draft.
Nivins, 6-9, 242-pounds, was selected by Dallas out of Saint Joseph’s University in the second round (56th overall) of 2009 NBA Draft. He spent the past three seasons playing overseas with Assignia Manresa (Spain) and Dexia Mons-Hainaut (Belgium).
Printezis, 6-7, 202-pounds, was selected by San Antonio in the second round (58th overall) of 2007 NBA Draft. His draft rights were traded to Toronto before he was sent to Dallas in exchange for Alexis Ajinca, a second-round draft pick and cash considerations on Jan. 24, 2011.
“Ronny brings us a tough, inside presence and we’re looking forward to adding his defense and tenacity to our frontline,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “This trade brings another solid veteran to our team along with additional assets in the form of draft picks and allows us to maintain our financial flexibility moving forward.”
Turiaf comes to the Wizards with career averages of 5.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while shooting .528 from the floor over 358 games in six seasons with the Lakers, Warriors and Knicks. Originally selected by the Lakers with the 37th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Turiaf had his best overall statistical season when he averaged 5.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks (ranking him fourth in the NBA) for the Warriors in 2008-09. He has finished in the top 30 in the NBA in blocked shots in three of the last four seasons. The 6-10 native of Martinique finished his collegiate career at Gonzaga as the school’s fourth all-time leading scorer and rebounder.
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