Suns and Chandler have had a mutual agreement on a buyout on his $13M-plus expiring deal for some time now, but Chandler needed a landing spot. Chandler found it with Lakers, who need size, and will welcome his locker room presence.
This is part of the reason -- as I and lots others reported over the summer -- that LA was never panicked about their center situation. Buyouts were inevitable. This is earlier than expected, but still.
The biggest joke ever was the year Chandler was awarded NBA Defensive player of the year simply because they were tired of giving it to Dwight Howard every year (who deserved it that year as well)
The last player to receive a November buyout was Nemanja Nedovic (GSW) in Nov. 2014. Extremely rare for a player to bought out this early in the season.