For a guy that missed 37 games last season and has been injury plagued his entire career a 12.6 million dollar salary would sound pretty good for next season, but it sounds like Tyson Chandler may have other ideas. A report from ESPN has a source claiming that Chandler is seriously considering opting out of his contract and becoming a free agent this summer. If the 7’1 center did decide to opt out then he would be forfeiting his 12.6 million dollar salary and be looking for a brand new contract.
Now there are a couple of different ways to look at this situation and it presents a lot of options for not only Chandler but the Charlotte Bobcats. From Chandler’s point of view, it sounds like he believes that with so many teams having money to spend, and him being one of only a couple free agent centers out there, that he could possibly get a three year deal worth around 25 to 30 million dollars. Now all along it has looked as if Chandler would exercise his option for next year and just play out his contract. After all, he hasn’t been very productive these last couple of seasons and 12.6 million dollars is a very nice salary. The Bobcats still say they haven’t heard anything about Chandler opting out and the game plan has been for him to be here playing next season. Chandler has until June 30th to opt out of his contract and time will tell what Chandler decides.
Now if you take a look at this from the Bobcats perspective this could potentially be good news. Chandler underachieved in his first season here in Charlotte and the Bobcats already have three centers with big contracts. So Chandler opting out might not be such a bad thing. The move would free up some much needed cap space for the team with players Tyrus Thomas and Raymond Felton still looking to be signed. But don’t forget, the Bobcats also liked what Chandler brought towards the end of the regular season and in the playoffs with his energy and good defensive play. So it will be interesting to see how this situation plays out.
What do you think Bobcats fans? Do you like what Chandler brings to the table when he’s healthy and do you want him back? Or would you rather have the cap space to sign other guys and go with the other centers that we have on the team?