If Knicks president Phil Jackson is more concerned with 2015 free agency than the 2014-15 season, center Tyson Chandler acknowledged this may not be the right place for him.
The Knicks, after missing the playoffs, have mapped out a blueprint to keep open cap space for the summer of 2015 while trying to grind through the 2014-15 season. That could mean few upgrades this offseason when the Knicks actually own a lottery pick if they miss the playoffs again.
Chandler has one year left on his pact at $14 million and becomes a free agent in 2015, when Jackson is looking to pounce on a free-agent class that could include LeBron James and will feature Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo and Goran Dragic, among others.
“I definitely don’t want to waste another season,’’ Chandler said before the Knicks faced the Nets Tuesday at Barclays Center. “I don’t want to waste this season. I’m not into wasting seasons. Your time is too short in this league and I want to win a championship, another one. I’m not into wasting seasons.’’
Asked if Jackson’s plan was more about the future than present, he said: “I’ll cross that bridge when it gets to that point. I hope it’s not that situation.
“That decision isn’t going to be in my hands,’’ Chandler added.
In March in Detroit, after the Knicks had lost their seventh straight game to fall 19 games under .500, a despondent Chandler said ominously of his future: “That’s something I have to visit during the offseason. We’re all going to have a lot of decisions to make.’’
Chandler could easily be used as Jackson’s No. 1 trade chip this summer with his expiring contract and his ability still to play at a high level. Scouts, however, say Chandler saw his first sign of slippage after breaking his leg in the season’s fourth game and missing six weeks.
Chandler is one of the few players in the NBA with experience playing the triangle offense, which he did early in his career with Chicago. It didn’t work.
“I played it my first couple of years, but it was like a square because Phil wasn’t there,’’ Chandler said. “We ran it with Tim Floyd, then Bill Cartwright. It didn’t work out well, but we didn’t have the talent Phil had in Chicago.’’
Chandler still thinks this squad can succeed as constructed, but with better teamwork. When asked if he wants to be part of this new program, Chandler said: “I’m signed up to be part of this program. I think the future can definitely be bright. I think we still have positive pieces. We just have to understand how to put it together.’’
Chandler, who averaged 8.9 points and 9.8 rebounds, is still dumbfounded as to what went wrong during this non-playoff season, which ends Wednesday against the Raptors.
“I thought I had a great summer of training,’’ Chandler said. “I broke my leg early in the year, then from there it spiraled downhill.
“[The chemistry] never felt right throughout the season. We had some bright spots. Never where we were on a level where we should’ve been. I don’t have an answer for that.
“It’s definitely something we didn’t expect. We came with high expectations, high hopes. It’s definitely disappointing.”
After the lockout ended, Chandler, coming off a title in Dallas, signed as a free agent with the Knicks.
“The first year I got here, I understood it would be a building situation,’’ Chandler said. “I felt we had core pieces, just a matter of getting pieces to go along with that. Second year I thought we made strides. This year was just unexpected. I didn’t expect it.’’
Chandler doesn’t want to experience it again.
“I never want to be in a situation like this,’’ he said. “I pride myself on being a competitor and taking the team to another level.”