The 2015 first round displayed the logic behind the difficult decision the Dallas Mavericks made after the 2011 lockout.

Why let Tyson Chandler leave for the hope of signing Dwight Howard? Because a healthy Howard is a much more dominant force than Chandler.

Which leads us to the delicate center situation the Mavs must manage this summer: Chandler or DeAndre Jordan?

With all due respect to Chandler, who forever deserves to be treated like a legend in Dallas, this wouldn’t be a difficult decision for the Mavs. As cold-hearted as it’d be to bid farewell to Chandler after a second productive one-season stint, the Mavs would be foolish to choose to keep the 32 year old over the 26-year-old Jordan, even though the latter will demand a larger contract.

One of the major reasons the Los Angeles Clippers can eliminate Howard’s Houston Rockets in Game 5 is because Jordan is getting the best of the big-man battle, outplaying an eight-time All-Star who overpowered the Mavs in the first round. Chandler does a lot of important things well on the court, but Jordan does those things better, leading the league in field-goal percentage the last three seasons, rebounding the last two seasons and defensive win shares this season.

If the Mavs re-sign Chandler, they could reasonably hope to get a few more good years from an aging veteran who has an extensive injury history. If they successfully recruit Jordan, the Mavs could reasonably hope to get a foundation piece for the foreseeable future with a blossoming big man who hasn’t missed a game since Chandler and the Mavs made their title run.

But, of course, it’s not as simple as choosing which center they’d rather have in their starting lineup next season.

The Mavs would have to successfully recruit Jordan, who is represented by agent Dan Fegan, who helped deliver Chandler Parsons to the Mavs last summer. Sources have told ESPNDallas.com that Jordan has privately indicated that he’d be interested in coming to Dallas. But it stands to reason that the likelihood of him leaving Lob City would decrease with every round that the Clippers advance.

If the Mavs aren’t able to convince Jordan to leave a title contender – perhaps even a defending champion, depending on how these playoffs go – to come to his home state, keeping Chandler is an absolute must. It’d be a disaster to let Chandler leave again without an immediate upgrade. (Dallas native LaMarcus Aldridge might be the Mavs’ top target in free agency, but a recruiting pitch to have the perennial All-Star power forward play center would be a waste of time. Playing with Chandler would need to be part of the deal to convince Aldridge to come home.)

So the Mavs must proceed with caution, being careful not to offend Chandler while pursuing one of the handful of big men who are better than him. It helps that Chandler is a consummate professional who has said that his preference would be to stay in Dallas, but it’s not as if the Mavs can expect Chandler to be patient out of loyalty to a franchise that has never fully committed to him.

“You never know what the future holds,” Chandler said earlier this month. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Jordan might have a better idea, but he’s busy right now being a dominant force for a team trying to make a championship run.

For the Mavs this summer, it’s land the big fish who can be a foundation piece for years to come or keep the familiar big man who can claim to be the best center in franchise history despite only spending two one-season stints in Dallas. Anything else would be a failure.