Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons signing Tyson Chandler would be smart

3. Stable head in the locker room

Coming into the season, the Los Angeles Lakers had one of the most interesting blends of personalities in their locker room. There was the group of young players that clowned each other on social media, the Meme Team with Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Michael Beasley, and then LeBron James, who has been known to take his own subtle shots at teammates, trying to rein them all in.

There have been no signs of trouble with this clash of personalities, and there’s constant joy on the bench celebrating a ferocious dunk or big-time shot. But it’s early in the season, and who knows what can take place from this point forward in the season with inconsistent playing time for the backcourt already underway?

Insert Tyson Chandler, who has been one of the most stable locker room presences in the NBA for a long time. Chandler has been through everything in a career. He’s a former No. 2 overall pick that has been on terrible teams and was labelled a bust for great stretches of his early career. He was never the offensive player people would hope from a second overall pick, but found his place as one of the best big man defenders and rim protectors in his career.

He anchored the Dallas Mavericks’ defense in their 2011 NBA championship team, did the same for the 2012-13 New York Knicks team that went to the Eastern Conference semifinals (their best season since late 1990s) and has navigated his way through the NBA since then. He signed a contract in 2015 with Phoenix, where he’s seen his fair share of losing and hardship with plenty of roster overhaul.

Chandler has never complained publicly and had to deal with the consistent struggle young players go through in the NBA. He understands the dynamics of NBA locker rooms and will be a perfect fit for the Lakers. Chandler will provide another old head for LeBron James and Rajon Rondo to bounce ideas off of while learning plenty throughout his career about handling the pressure of being a high draft pick — something he went through himself and saw firsthand in Phoenix with Devin Booker and others alike.