Q&A: Tyson Chandler

Courtesy of KRLD-FM 105.3

On what he's been doing this summer:

"I've just been training, man. I took about two weeks off at the end of last season and then got back at it. I didn't like how things ended last year, so I wanted to make sure I was prepared for this season. Things ended up working out better because, you know, I ended up coming back home."

On Dirk Nowitzki taking a pay cut:

"We don't have enough time on this show for me to explain the type of respect I have for Dirk Nowitzki. He and Jason Kidd are two of the most incredible teammates that I've ever been around. They're two future Hall of Famers, but you wouldn't know it walking into the practice facility. They're in every meeting, every practice and they're super humble always passing the credit along. He's the type of guy, if I was a GM or president or owner, that I'd want to start my team with. He's given Dallas his everything. When I first got here, I remember coming back late at night to get a lift in or work on some free throws and every single time I got there, he was there. He'd be putting up shot after shot after shot. It just shows that he's never going to settle and he doesn't want to settle. He always wants to win and he's willing to do whatever it takes. A lot was made about what I did and what I accomplished in my year here. He's the man. When you have the top dog leading that way, you can't help but fall in line."

On Raymond Felton:

"Ray is a tough guard. He's going to provide a lot to this team. He's able to bring a floor presence and get after it defensively. I'm excited for him to team up with coach [Rick] Carlisle, to be quite honest. Coach Carlisle will help him understand how to run this team in this system. I think he's really going to blossom in the locker room with guys like Dirk and a lot of other veterans like myself and Devin [Harris]."

On how his game compares to the 2011 version of himself:

"I think I'm better in understanding the game mentally. Physically, I'm in an incredible place. I haven't felt this good in a long time. Over the years you learn different things. The more you are able to play this game, the better you are mentally. I'm excited to bring that to the table here again. I love the makeup of the team. We've been here for the last couple of weeks getting after it, playing pick up [games] and ran the hills yesterday as a team. We've been training as a team. People don't know, but this is pretty early to have every player here already. I just like the makeup of this team. I think we've got great young guys. It's a nice mix up of veterans and young players."