This summer, the Memphis Grizzlies and small forward Chandler Parsons agreed to a four-year maximum contract worth $94 million. Memphis’ vision was for Parsons to come in and be their primary wing moving forward, an area Memphis had lacked in the season prior.
The only caveat was Parsons was coming off of a knee injury and his prior season was cut short because of a knee injury as well. This season, Parsons has slowly been eased back but it’s clear he hasn’t had the big impact fans would have hoped for in a max player. Only appearing in 32 games, he’s averaging 6 points, 2.5 rebounds per game and shooting 33.5 percent from the field.
However, for Grizzlies fans, their biggest pet peeve has been with the amount of partying Parsons does compared to the number of times he’s out on the court playing.
Following from Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
“I get it,” Fizdale said. “I get that the fans see social media and see him in Cancun. You know what? If you looked at every other player’s social media that wasn’t at the All-Star Game, they were probably at a beach, because I was, too. I get them being frustrated with that and the fact that he’s single and has got girls that he dates and all that stuff. If I looked like that and I was single, I’d date a lot of girls, too. So get past all of that.
Although Grizzlies fans may be frustrated, Fizdale took a light-hearted approach to it all and is aware getting Parson’s back to an elite level will be a process.
