With Tyson Chandler agreeing to terms with the Phoenix Suns, the Dallas Mavericks lost the anchor of their defense and a player who buoyed their offense with hard dives to the rim and accurate finishing ability in the paint.
They made up for all of that and more by agreeing to terms with DeAndre Jordan, a center six years younger who does many of the things Chandler does, only better.
Among players to take at least 100 shots last season, Chandler ranked second in field-goal percentage after making 67 percent of them. The only player to shoot a higher percentage? Jordan, who shot 71.0 percent.
Chandler did most of his work deep in the paint with 86 percent of his shots coming from less than five feet out last season. Jordan, meanwhile, took 97 percent of his shots from four feet and in.
Both players ranked in the top five in rebounding, but while Chandler was fifth at 11.5 a game, Jordan led the league with 15 a contest. In fact, Jordan joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to lead the league in rebounding and field-goal percentage in multiple seasons.
Chandler ranked third in the NBA with 147 dunks last season as the main beneficiary of lobs as the roll man in Rick Carlisle's offense. That's not bad but not as good as Jordan, who led the league with 208 dunks.
Teams shot 51 percent at the rim on plays defended by Chandler, according to NBA.com's player tracking data, while Jordan limited opponents to 49 percent shooting at the rim.
Blocks are also a win for Jordan, as he ranked fifth with 2.2 a game. Chandler was tied for 29th with 1.2.
Free-throw shooting aside, Jordan figures to provide a better version of what Chandler brought to the Mavs last season.
Jordan is the fulcrum of strong Clippers lineup
The Clippers will now experience life without Jordan, a player so reliable he owns the league's longest active consecutive games played streak at 322.
Jordan teamed with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, J.J. Redick and Matt Barnes in a starting lineup that played 302 minutes more than the next most-used NBA lineup, and they outscored opponents by 17.7 points per 100 possessions while together on the court.
Jordan also played in four of the five highest-scoring three-man lineups with the Clippers, and his co-stars Paul and Griffin will surely miss him. When all three shared the court, the Clippers scored 118.4 points per 100 possessions and outscored opponents by almost 16 points per 100.
For the season, no NBA team averaged even 110 points per 100 possessions (the Clippers were first in the league, just shy of that figure), and only the Warriors were within 9 points per 100 possessions of this trio's net efficiency.