Tyson Chandler talks free agency, being a locker room leader, more

On how he evaluates this season

"It was ups and downs this season. The best part of the season for me was coming back, walking through the doors and seeing a lot of familiar faces, my sit downs with coach and being able to just lace them up again with Dirk and J. J. and just remembering those special moments. That was the highlight of my year was really just having the opportunity to compete again for something and get out there and play with pride."

On why Rondo didn't work

"I don't know. I lot can be said about it. I thought it was a good trade. I thought it gave us the potential to be a better team and to compete for a championship, which is what we all wanted. Unfortunately the pieces just didn't fit to the puzzle and it didn't work out. I can't necessarily say it was one thing, or one reason why it didn't work out. But it didn't and you got to move on."

On free agency being different this time around

"I don't know. You never know what the future holds. I don't know what's going to happen. I think it's different because the first time around it was the lockout, it was all kind of crazy things going on, and the (salary) cap was changing. And now the business is moving in more of a positive direction. I think teams have moiré flexibility, so we'll see where that goes.''

On the frustration as a locker room leader, not being able to get this team to come together

"It was definitely tough at times. Personally, I took a lot of it on. Just a lot of long nights trying to figure out how to push this team and really how to bring this team together. But I thought for the most part guys really stuck in there, guys battled. With the little hurdles that we were going through, guys sowed up and that was good.

"Especially with the things that happened in the playoffs, us being down 0-3, it's definitely no celebration. But I like the way the guys came in and competed. A lot of teams just mail it in and call it over. But guys showed pride and that showed me a lot about the characters that were in the locker room. I said after that game that I respected a lot of guys for what they did that night."

On emotions and loyalty being a part of his decision this summer

"You have to weigh in on everything. You have to weigh in on what's going to be best for yourself, your psyche, how you're going to perform, where you're going to be most comfortable at, your family. All of those things do come into play. It's just a balance, at the time, where you are in your career and what means most to you."

On Al-Farouq Aminu

"He was one of the really bright spots of this year. He reminded me a little bit of myself and others who have been in similar situations where you've kind of been on teams that you didn't necessarily find your spot and your home. I feel like he's always been a promising player throughout his career. Teams never put him necessarily in a position to succeed. And this year was kind of a growing experience for him because I think from those teams that he's played on, you almost sometimes become a whipping boy. He grew. He was encouraged every day.

"Coaches were working with him every day. He saw the fruits of his labor on the run that he made in the playoffs and he showed a lot of teams, including this organization, how valuable he is and what he's capable of doing. I think he's going to have a bright future. I said it when I saw him early in the summer before preseason started that I thought he had the potential to be a great defender. By the end of the year, he really showed it."

On not having any series wins since 2011

"Someone will win the championship this year and then everybody else is even playing field. I think that this organization definitely has the potential, has the blueprint, been there, seen it, done it before. It's just about getting the right pieces in. Everything is difficult when you don't have the right pieces. You get the right pieces, anything could happen. But that's the first thing is the right pieces have to be there."

On how much he has left in the tank

"I feel like I've been continually getting better year by year. I feel like I'm going to continue to do that. I feel great. This is the first time in a while that I've ended a season healthy and able to just continue working out. I plan on continuing to get better."