NBA Trade Rumors: Is Tyson Chandler Leaving NY Knicks?

All-Star center Tyson Chandler has already expressed his displeasure on the New York Knicks' disappointing 2013-14 season, triggering an avalanche of speculation about the future of the former Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Apple.

The 31-year-old Chandler will not become a free-agent until the summer of 2015, but his days in New York seem to be numbered, as he increasingly grows impatient about the team's rebuilding progress.

In an interview with the New York Post before the Knicks' game against the Brooklyn Nets last week, Chandler stressed that he might not want to see his team waste another season because the window of opportunity to win another championship is already closing.

"I definitely don't want to waste another season," the Knicks center said in the interview. "I don't want to waste this season. I'm not into wasting seasons. Your time is too short in this league and I want to win a championship, another one. I'm not into wasting seasons."

Chandler will join a slew of elite free-agents such as Goran Dragic, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Love, but he could be moved as early as this offseason, when team president of basketball operations Phil Jackson gets the chance to use him as the no.1 trade chip.

With his contract expiring, Jackson has the luxury to use him as trade bait for teams looking for a serviceable defensive center. However, many scouts aren't convinced Chandler would continue to be an impact player in the coming years primarily because of his struggle to stay healthy this past couple of years.

"Chandler could easily be used as Jackson's No. 1 trade chip this summer with his expiring contract and his ability still to play at a high level. Scouts, however, say Chandler saw his first sign of slippage after breaking his leg in the season's fourth game and missing six weeks," NY Post writer Marc Berman reported.

In case the Knicks decided to stick with him for one more season, Chandler said he's optimistic about the chance to play with Jackson's efficient offense despite his struggles under the triangle system early in his career.

"I played it my first couple of years, but it was like a square because Phil wasn't there,'' Chandler said. "We ran it with Tim Floyd, then Bill Cartwright. It didn't work out well, but we didn't have the talent Phil had in Chicago.''