Former All-Star Center Dishes on Nearly Landing With OKC Thunder

Chandler won the 2012 Defensive Player of the Year Award, qualified for an All-NBA Team, and was an All-Star. He also won an NBA Championship as the starting center of the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. That all likely looks a bit different if the trade had brought him to Oklahoma City, though.

“That's a different dynasty," Chandler said. "No disrespect to (Kendrick) Perkins, but our games matched better. Not only that but they was my young boys. Russ from LA, James from LA. It's different.

"If I got there on top of that, our styles match. Athletically, I can keep up with them. I'm actually going to push the pace for them. I honestly think we get two or three championships, two minimum. Even young Serge was there. You had Serge playing the power forward, I'm playing the five. Two athletically bigs. We would've been a problem."

The Thunder medical staff determined that Chandler’s left big toe injury was a cause for concern, and they weren’t willing to risk it. Chandler was bothered by the toe injury the season prior, and it even led him to withdraw from Team USA in the summer. Oklahoma City was worried about his durability, and how long he would last.

It's safe to count that one as a loss for the Thunder, as Chandler had a terrific career and played for a long time. He would've had a huge difference in Oklahoma City's lineup, and he's right - there's a real chance it would've resulted in a championship at some point. As Thunder fans know, though, the best roster doesn't always equal a ring, so there's no certainty it would've happened.