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Tyson Chandler has harsh words for Mavericks organization

In return to Dallas, the Suns center still quite miffed about how everything played out.

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Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban claimed he learned from his mistakes when Tyson Chandler returned to the team last year.

Chandler was one of the main reasons the Mavericks became a complete team upon his arrival and they lifted up their first ever Larry O'Brien trophy in 2011. But soon after they puzzlingly allowed him to leave in free agency after offering just one year in a new deal with hopes of upgrading the roster.

After three years with the New York Knicks, the Mavs acknowledged that big blunder by re-acquiring him in a 2014 trade.

So what's he doing with the Phoenix Suns now after signing to a four-year, $52 million deal in the offseason?

The DeAndre Jordan saga between the Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers allowed Phoenix the opportunity to sign the shot-blocking big man who in 2013 was an All-Star and a first team All-Defensive selection.

Now back in Dallas for a preseason game, Chandler told his side of the story to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.

"I definitely felt like, after winning a championship and help bring it there, that I was going to be there for the long run," he said Tuesday. "I never heard of a championship team being broken up like that. When they traded for me to come back, I sat at the podium with everybody else and heard them say this was going to be a long-term deal and they weren't going to make the same mistake as last time and blah-blah-blah. Seven months later, the same thing happens again. But I learned in this business that you can't trust everybody. That's why it is what it is."

Now he definitely has a right to feel the way he does, but the Mavericks thought they had Jordan after reaching a verbal agreement with them. Chandler would go on to reach a deal with the Suns while Jordan waffled on his decision only to return to the Clippers.

But not only does Chandler question the timeline of the events that took place, but he is also disputing the claim from the Mavs that they had offered him an extension last year and that "Chandler's camp gave Dallas an ultimatum when the Suns came after him".

"I saw the bull---- they put out," Chandler said. "It's just bull----. Just saving face. It was what it was. It was clear. The whole process was going on while I was basically still in the jersey."

Wednesday's preseason game will just be a precursor to next week's regular season matchup with the Mavs at the American Airlines Center.

"To be honest, I don't know what my emotions are going to be like going in there until I get there," Chandler said to Coro. "I feel like the whole situation was all bad - twice."

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