2011 NBA Free Agents: Tyson Chandler Doesn't Deserve Monster Payday

Tyson Chandler played very well last season in helping the Dallas Mavericks win in the NBA Finals, but a team would be foolish to overpay for the center.

First of all, someone who teams are willing to spend over $10 million per season on has to average more than 10.1 points per game, which was Chandler's scoring output last season. For his career, Chandler has averaged just 8.3 points per game.

He does not have a good offensive post game and won't bother opposing defenses with his mid-range shooting.

Where Chandler does excel, however, is his defense. He averaged 9.4 rebounds per game for Dallas last season and also blocked at least one shot per contest.

You cannot overpay for defense. It is vitally important to championship contenders, but paying someone over $10 million to rebound and block shots just doesn't make sense when building a team under a salary cap.

There's no secret to why Chandler had one of the best seasons of his career last year, he was playing for his last big contract.

His scoring average improved by almost four points per game and his rebounding average improved by a bit over three per game.

On an elite team and in a contract season, there was no chance Chandler would not perform well. Teams must be aware that for most of his career he's been just an average player.

Chandler has also never played in all 82 games of a season. In the 2008-09 season, he played in only 45 games while suiting up for just 51 in the 2009-10 season. He has battled injuries during his career as well.

Chandler is also 29 years old, and giving someone a big, long-term contract who is about to hit 30 is a bad idea. Just because Chandler is the best free agent center available should not give teams the justification they need to sign Chandler.

He is a good player but is nowhere near deserving of a monster deal. Chandler is a dependable NBA center, especially defensively, but should not be paid $10 million or more per season.