Knicks' deal for Chandler nearly complete

The Knicks were on the verge of forming arguably the biggest Big 3 in NBA history as the club closed in last night on the stunning signing of elite 7-foot-1 center Tyson Chandler, according to multiple NBA sources.

In forming a Chandler-Amar’e Stoudemire-Carmelo Anthony frontline, the Knicks are ready to blow up their long-stated Master Plan of preserving cap space for 2012 in order to sign Chris Paul in a whopping change of heart.

The Knicks realize Paul is headed elsewhere, even if last night’s three-team trade that had him going to the Lakers was killed by the NBA, which owns the Hornets.

For the Knicks, the future is now, not in 2012.

To add Chandler in a potential four-year, $58 million package, the Knicks are ready to cut ties with starting point guard Chauncey Billups, who would be a victim of the new amnesty clause to create cap space.

The holdup is center Ronny Turiaf also has to be traded for a draft pick to open the needed cap space to have Chandler start at nearly $14 million per season. According to sources, the Turiaf trade last night was stopping the deal from being consummated. Turiaf has chronic knee issues and may need to pass a physical.

The other alternative would have the Knicks and Dallas engineer a tidy sign-and-trade — Billups for Chandler — since Billups makes $14.2 million. But one NBA source called a sign-and-trade “a longshot.’’
  Billups, who was to attend his first day of voluntary workouts yesterday, instead flew back to Denver on his own without the Knicks’ blessing, according to a source.

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It’s a bitter pill for Billups, who could retire.

“He’s irate under the circumstances,” his agent Andy Miller told Yahoo. “He has no intention of being open-minded about any possible situation where a team would claim him off waivers unless it’s a team he chooses himself. Buyer beware.”