Tyson Chandler to New York Knicks: Breaking Down the 2011 NBA Free Agent Signing

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The New York Knicks have finally found a center with the signing of Tyson Chandler.

The Knicks will have to cut ties with both PG Chauncey Bilups and PF Ronny Turiaf in order to land Chandler, and the team is prepared to do exactly that.

Chandler is expected to sign with the Knicks on Friday afternoon when the N.B.A. officially reopens for business, according to a person involved in the talks. To make room for Chandler under the salary cap, the Knicks will waive point guard Chauncey Billups and trade center Ronny Turiaf.

In other words, the Knicks will use the amnesty clause on Billups' expiring $14 million contract and lose further depth off the bench to accommodate Chandler's arrival.

What does this mean?

Well, New York is prepared Chandler a yearly salary of around $15 million per season, in addition to paying Billups about $14 million to walk out the door in order to make this scenario come to fruition.

That's basically a $30 million investment in Chandler for his first season in the Big Apple, and that's a rather sizable roll of the dice for a player who is clearly cashing in on a career season that culminated in a championship.

The move also significantly decreases the amount of financial flexibility the team will have going forward, and the team will have more than $50 million committed to Chandler, Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire on an annual basis going forward.

The Knicks finally got a real center to man the middle, but it comes at a sky-high cost.

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