Chandler Parsons spent only two years with the Dallas Mavericks. In that time, however, he was an integral part of the team and the franchise.
This summer, Parsons moved on from Dallas to join the Memphis Grizzlies. On Friday, he will play against the Mavericks for the first time since switching sides.
Hours before he is set to take on his old team, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon released a fantastic story about Chandler Parsons’ time in Dallas. The story’s most notable portions include how Parsons’ relationship with owner Mark Cuban affected the team and Cuban’s change of heart in free agency:
For weeks after the regular season ended, Cuban consistently told Parsons that they’d get a long-term deal done, according to Parsons. Asked about that by ESPN, Cuban simply shakes his head, evidently disputing the account.
As free agency approached, team sources say they were unanimous that it’d be a poor business decision to commit a major share of the Mavs’ salary cap to Parsons for the next four years because of his knee problems.
Two team sources also cited locker room concerns with Parsons, although those were labeled as “forgivable, fixable things.” The primary concern: The fact that Parsons was so close with Cuban and wielded so much power in personnel matters.
“The main reason why I went to Dallas was because I had an owner that was my boy and who believed in me,” Parsons says. “That’s an awesome combination to have. As my years went on there, I think there was a huge jealousy factor of how cool I was with him, how I had some power and input in decisions that they make. I think that hurt some people’s feelings. I think that made them jealous.
“Looking from the outside looking in, I could see how that could rub people the wrong way. My relationship with him — like, we were so cool, we were so close, I had his ear on a lot of decisions — I think that ended up biting me in the ass at the end.”
“That was the weirdest part to me,” Parsons says. “How DeAndre was kind of starting to get shady and ignore Mark’s calls, that’s kind of like what Mark started doing to me. So it was like, ‘Damn, you know what? I get it. We’re going through negotiations. I know free agency can be tough sometimes, but at the end of the day, you’re my friend.’
“I was being avoided. I was being pushed out. I was being ignored. So awkward.”
There is a whole lot to take in here. That the Mavs decided to move on from Parsons isn’t surprising. Paying a max deal to a player who has struggled with injuries his whole career is a risky venture to say the least.
Cuban’s tactics of ignoring Parsons, if true, is fairly notable. Future free agents will have known about this beforehand. The Mavs have already struggled to bring in FA’s the last few years; Cuban losing trust among other players can only hurt.
As for Cuban’s buddy-buddy relationship with Chandler Parsons, that seems like something that probably happens all across the league. That said, it might be the first time I’ve heard of other players being jealous of that. So awkward, indeed.
