Like Hornets Hype said last week, it's bittersweet seeing Tyson Chandler go; not so long ago we believed he was a key piece in a championship-caliber team, yet there's no doubt Emeka Okafor is excellent compensation for him.
Chandler will be missed for reasons beyond basketball. He came to New Orleans three years ago, spitting venom back at the Bulls for trading him. He felt he'd been lied to by then-Bulls GM John Paxson, and he was determined to make his former employer regret the deal.
Now Tyson has been dealt again, but he leaves the Hornets and New Orleans with nothing but kind words. Excerpts from his recent blog post:
I'm sad to leave New Orleans. I met a lot of people in the community that I got close to. It was an incredible playing environment, playing with a group of teammates that I grew to love and respect. That part I'm really going to miss. With those guys it was like a family. Being under Coach Scott and his staff and growing close with he and his family and the Pauls, really all of my teammates...
Everyone knows how I feel about Coach. I just love and respect him so much and he's helped me turn my career around from where it was heading in Chicago, coming into New Orleans and allowing people to see that talent that I have...
I just want to thank the city of New Orleans, the Hornets organization for the opportunity and for the great couple of years that I had there. I also want to thank my Hornets teammates for everything they've done for me. I had great time in New Orleans being able to enjoy the game again, with them.
Sure, Tyson had a better run in New Orleans than he did in Chicago, but he could have easily taken some parting shots this past week. After all, he's headed to a franchise that hasn't won more than 35 games in any of its five seasons, and there's not much to suggest Year 6 will be any different. Plus, no more easy buckets courtesy of the world's greatest point guard.
But no. Tyson took the high road this time, proving he's come a long way in three short years. He's no longer a Hornet, but he's left with a lot of fans in New Orleans.
9 magnificent comments post your own
jeffevan
08/03/09 09:45 PM
Love that guy. I can unequivocally say that in this beleaguered but world-class city of ours, Tyson was a part of a team that for the first time in my life made me believe that we could legitimately win a championship. The 07-08 season was a magical one, and that's really all you can ask for as a fan--and I know he feels the same as a player.
Tyson, NOLA will always be a place that will welcome you with open arms--you were definitely a part of building something bigger than basketball here. Best wishes!
#1
urgmasdaughter
08/04/09 02:51 AM
Love Chandler real classy move!
This is off topic but I was lookin at the 2010 free agents, seeing who I could dream about us pickin up! :) But it said Rasual Butler was a free agent in 2010 for the BOBCATS!!! Did we get rid of him and I missed it somehow?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=FreeAgents-09-10
Here's what it said:
Charlotte - 2010 FA
UNRESTRICTED
Raja Bell
Rasual Butler
Tyson Chandler (ETO)
Nazr Mohammed (ETO)
Vladimir Radmanovic (ETO)
#2
TopherPrice
08/04/09 04:17 AM
I was coming to post the exact same question. Is this some sort of slip that we wont find out about until later in the week, or is it just a case of them cutting and pasting something they were working on before the trade happened. Like they just tried to cut tyson from the hornets 2010 list and didn't realize they cut rasual with him when they moved TC to the Bobcats list.
#3
Niall Doherty
08/04/09 06:59 AM
Nice find, but it's just a slip. Somehow some people still mix up the Hornets and Bobcats.
www.ndoherty.com #4
Ryan Schwan
08/04/09 08:25 AM
I agree with this post entirely, Niall. I'll miss Chandler, even though I'm pretty excited to see what Okafor can do for us.
www.hornets247.com #5
bigindian15
08/04/09 01:38 PM
I see people say "The Charlotte Hornets" all the time. Just a mixup. As long as they don't call him Caron Butler and make me think we have Tough Juice on our team for 15 glorious seconds, before coming back down to Earth and being pissed, I'm fine with it
Tyson's a class guy. I hope Charlotte makes the playoffs. He deserves it.
#6
NOEngineer
08/04/09 05:36 PM
Chandler always appeared to play with 100% effort and desire to win, even when his lower extremeties weren't cooperating. That type of effort endears him to the fans as well as his teammates. We get the same type of effort from CP3 and Ryan Bowen and Deuce McCallister. We love those guys. Listen up, Emeka!!!!
I can't wait to cheer Tyson when the Bobcats come to town, just like we did when he came back after the botched OK Thumper trade!
#7
Mikey
08/04/09 05:51 PM
Emeka Okafor's biggest shoes to fill might be in the community. Tyson was a HUGE part of the Hornets' outreach to the community amid their return after the 2005 Hurricanes. He had the "Rebound to rebound" program where he donated I think $10 for every rebound he pulled down. People in the community could also make a donation to that effort, and it's goal was to bring teachers back home to New Orleans so they could continue to educate the young people here. He was also big into "Hoops for Homes" as well as doing another grant program to pay for home repairs so teachers could come back and be an infulence to their kids. Chandler is a guy who really takes his community outreach seriously. In addition to what he'll provide on the court, Charlotte has lots of reasons to like what they're getting in Tyson Chandler.
#8
420ftJesus
08/04/09 05:53 PM
As a relatively new Hornets fan, Tyson leaving is a little stab of reality.
As a long time Saints fan, I can only imagine that he's got good odds of having a great season with Charlotte (see Jake Delhomme, etc.)
Best to you, Tyson.
#9