New York Sports: Knicks' Signing Chandler is Brilliant Move

In a shocking turn of events, the New York Knicks are actually making what appears to be a very smart basketball decision.

The Knicks are on the verge of adding Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler for a reported four-year, $58 million contract that gives them one of the strongest frontcourts in the NBA.

The addition of Chandler, which should become official at some point on Saturday, allows for Amare Stoudemire to shift over to his more natural power forward position.

Chandler was an important cog in the Mavericks' championship team this past year and offers the defensive toughness that the Knicks sorely lack. Stoudemire has always tried his best defensively, but his efforts couldn't make up for the lack of defense consistently shown by star small forward Carmelo Anthony.

Simply adding Chandler isn't what should get Knicks fans so excited, though. Chandler is a great player and one that a lot of teams wanted, including local rival New Jersey.

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No, it was the fact that the Knicks eschewed the possibility of a superstar by taking a relatively sure thing.

The Knicks could have waited until 2012 and possibly signed New Orleans Hornet point guard Chris Paul, New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams, or Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.

All three are considerably better known than Chandler and would add that star appeal that seems to be so appreciated in the Big Apple.

But we've been down that road before with the Knicks.

For the past decade and a half, the Knicks have been in a perpetual process of trying to cut salaries for an opportunity to sign a superstar in the summer, but they have failed at almost every opportunity.

There was the pursuit of Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady and Tim Duncan in 2000 that netted them nothing.

There was bizarre talk of trying to sign Kobe Bryant to a mid-level exception at one point, which obviously didn't work out.

And of course there was this past summer when the Knicks managed to sign Stoudemire but struck out on its dream of adding either Lebron James or Dwyane Wade.

For more than two years leading up to the 2010 summer, Knicks management maneuvered to give the team an opportunity to sign James. Former Knicks executive Donnie Walsh essentially sacrificed two seasons for a chance to convince James to leave Cleveland to play in the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden.

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