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Kevin Durant: We were supposed to get Tyson Chandler too. We traded for him, but our doctors said something was wrong with his toe, so we rescinded the trade. The next season, Tyson went on to win the championship with Dallas.
Isaiah says the 2011 Dallas Mavericks champion center took him under his wing in Houston, where Chandler instilled the importance of quarterbacking a defense from the center position. Hartenstein shared his past with reporters after training camp on Thursday. “I had to learn it. I feel like, especially coming in as a rookie, I probably wasn’t talking as much as I should. A big guy [who helped me] with that was Tyson Chandler,” Hartenstein said. “I played with him with the Rockets. He taught me how important communication is. Learning from those guys helped me a lot.”
When Lively returned to the Mavericks’ locker room Thursday night, his phone had already been pinged by former Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler. Reminders to keep his head down, to stick to the grind. “Text messages,” Lively said. “I suck at phone calls.”
While the Mavericks spend the weekend in Boston, Chandler has still offered counsel to his pupil from afar. “All he’s telling me to do is the little things, no matter if that’s hitting them on the box-out or being able to talk to my teammates on the backside,” Lively said. “Just doing the little things so that everybody is connected on the court, so we’re not leaving anybody behind.”
Chandler, working as a volunteer, also attended most of those sessions and has been a regular at the Mavs' home practices throughout the season because he so thoroughly enjoys aiding in Lively's development. Chandler, whose 19-year career was highlighted by the Mavs' championship and a Defensive Player of the Year honor won with the New York Knicks two seasons later, has watched as Lively learned and implemented the dirty-work details of the game that Chandler said took years for him to fully grasp. "I didn't know he'd be this sound as a rookie. I think that's more impressive than anything," Chandler told ESPN after Lively averaged 11.5 points and 11.3 rebounds in four consecutive wins bridging the West semifinals and finals. "He steps into the moment and is not afraid of the moment or second-guessing himself." Kidd, for his part, sees the easy parallels between the two big men.
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Isaiah Hartenstein on being a second-round pick: 'I got red-flagged on draft night for something (an injury) I didn't have'
Michael Scotto: When you came into the league as a second-round pick, did you have a chip on your shoulder? Isaiah Hartenstein: Yeah. It was a frustrating time, especially going into the draft. I was projected a lot higher, and then, on draft night, I got red-flagged for something (an injury) I didn’t have. That was frustrating. I think everything happened for a reason. I think I was put in a situation that maybe at the time I didn’t really get it, but I was blessed to learn from Hall of Famers Chris Paul, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and from a big’s standpoint, I had Nenê to help me a lot and Tyson Chandler who was helping me a lot. At the time, I feel like you don’t really get what’s happening, but I think being consistent and changing my mental approach helped a lot.
Former NBA center Tyson Chandler has put his Newport Beach, CA, home up for rent, and he’s aiming to get $70,000 a month. The place is just steps from the beach and sits on a double lot in one of the town’s most sought-after neighborhoods
After his NBA debut, Lively was glad to see a congratulatory text message from Chandler, his mentor. “He definitely reached out and said, ‘Keep doing your work,’ ” Lively said in a phone interview with Andscape. “ ‘We’re going to stick at it and we’re just going to keep on climbing.’ He’s always going to have that high energy. So, we got back in the gym the day after and just tried to clean up all the mistakes from that game.”
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Lively said the tutoring from Chandler in pre-training camp workouts began his first week in Dallas. He also did his research on the internet to learn more about Chandler. “I couldn’t put two and two together until I actually saw exactly who he was [online]. I was like, ‘Yes. Got you. I could see what they’re doing here,’ ” Lively said. “I just got more and more invested. The first thing I did was watch Tyson Chandler highlights. And then the more I watched, the more I was like, ‘Oh, OK, I could definitely see this role being exploited.’ And then you just kind of just take a deeper dive on his process throughout his career. The right fit fell into place …
Dallas (4-0) and the Boston Celtics (4-0) are the only undefeated teams remaining in the NBA. Chandler said Lively has already received some great experience so far and will grow even more with the challenge of guarding Jokić. “The Joker has got everything you need,” Chandler said. “With him you got to be locked in and feel the game. What I mean by that is understand Denver’s offense, cutters, go-to moves, picks-and-rolls with Jamal Murray. The special thing about Joker is he’s not the norm. He will not force his will. He is going to make the right basketball play like LeBron James.
Dallas Mavericks veteran Tim Hardaway Jr. believes that rookie big man Dereck Lively II is having a similar presence as his former New York Knicks teammate Tyson Chandler. (via Dallas Mavericks): “He has that ‘it factor’, man. I always look at him like, ‘Me coming into my rookie year, you’re doing the same things that Tyson Chandler did when I was going to New York: Lob threat, rebound the ball, defensive threat, communicating, talking.’ He’s doing it, so credit to him and his work ethic. He’s making it known that he’s here, and he’s here to win.”
Dallas Mavericks veteran Tim Hardaway Jr. believes that rookie big man Dereck Lively II is having a similar presence as his former New York Knicks teammate Tyson Chandler. “He has that ‘it factor’, man. I always look at him like, ‘Me coming into my rookie year, you’re doing the same things that Tyson Chandler did when I was going to New York: Lob threat, rebound the ball, defensive threat, communicating, talking.’ He’s doing it, so credit to him and his work ethic. He’s making it known that he’s here, and he’s here to win.”
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