Swerving from their strategy of preserving cap space for a 2012 run at Chris Paul, Dwight Howard or Deron Williams, the Knicks made a successful run at acquiring Tyson Chandler.

As critical as a change as it is for the Knicks to take themselves out of the running for one of those three superstars, the short-term prospect of going into the 11-12 season without Chauncey Billups at point guard is troublesome. New York will have unproven Toney Douglas coming off a serious shoulder injury and rookie Iman Shumpert responsible for point guard duties.

Billups was far from an ideal fit for Mike D’Antoni’s system, but he gave the Knicks reliable competency at an important position. More troubling on a financial level, the Knicks could have bought out Billups for $3.75 million in June instead of amnestying his $14.2 million salary.

The Knicks will pay Chandler nearly $60 million over the next four seasons, but essentially $74 million if you tack on the money going to Billups. What is troubling for the Knicks is that the Hornets, Thunder, Bobcats and Mavericks have all explicitly or implicitly said that Chandler isn’t worth the risk.

Chandler fortunately fills New York’s desperate need to improve their interior defense and rebounding. The Knicks ranked 22nd in points allowed per 100 possessions last season at 110.1 and were in the bottom-five in both defensive and offensive rebounding percentage.

Chandler doesn’t block a ton of shots, 1.4 per 36 minutes last season and 1.8 per 36 for his career, but he has remarkable intangibles and is a true impact player on that end of the floor. Chandler was largely responsible for turning around a perennially defensively challenged Dallas team and also completely covered for the weaknesses of Dirk Nowitzki. The Knicks will receive a similar overall boost and so will Stoudemire, who will be less likely to wear down from carrying such a huge two-way load as he did last season.

The Knicks were 6.1 points per 100 possessions better on defense with Ronny Turiaf on the floor last season and since Chandler is a more impactful player who will take a higher percentage of minutes, the Knicks could conceivably morph into a top-10 defensive team.

On the offensive end, Chandler has probably missed fewer shots from the floor than any other player in the NBA since he was traded by the Bulls to New Orleans in 2006. Nearly all of his shot attempts come at the rim, either from lobs, offensive rebounds or broken plays. The contribution he brings offensively will be to create second chance opportunities and stay out of the way of Anthony and Stoudemire.

The real issue on this deal is financial and not strategic and that issue is irrelevant for this franchise.

Grade for Knicks: B+

The timing for Chandler to become the lynchpin for a Mavericks' title couldn't have been any better. If he had been a free agent last summer, he's looking at a deal barely above the mid-level exception.

The career of Chandler has been a fascinating one filled with ups and downs. He was given away by the Bulls to create room for Ben Wallace, became a borderline All-Star with Chris Paul, traded to the Thunder to only have them rescind the deal, dealt to Charlotte for Emeka Okafor and then becoming the prize for the non-guaranteed contract of Erick Dampier.

The 2011 free agent class isn't very deep, but there are a lot of centers and Chandler managed to stand out as the most readily available since he wasn't restricted and also a true difference maker defensively.

Grade for Tyson Chandler: A

Mark Cuban doesn't behave like a spendthrift very often, but he did in this situation by recusing himself from the bidding for Chandler. The last notable time Cuban did this was when he allowed a 30-year-old Steve Nash sign with the Suns. Chandler is 29 and it is hard to see why the risk of paying him for the first half of his thirties isn't the prudent thing to do when he only has two or three more years of Dirk Nowitzki at this high of a level.

The idea of being able to acquire Deron Williams and/or Dwight Howard is tempting, but is unquestionably a longshot.

Grade for Mavericks: C