The Rockets had played their hand perfectly with Chandler Parsons throughout his NBA career. Houston plucked Parsons out of the second round (38th pick overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft. The Rockets choice Parsons over Chase Budinger, and sent Budinger north to Minnesota. Parsons switched to Dwight Howard's agent, Dan Fegan, and became a point man for recruiting Howard to Houston. Daryl Morey smiled and racked in the chips on one of the best team-friendly contracts in the NBA, as Parsons posted an average of 16.6 PPG/ 4.0ASG/ 5.5 RPG last season.
Morey, in hopes of going big game hunting this free-agent season, declined Parsons' team option to make him a restricted free-agent. The goal was to sign a third 'star' and match any offer on Parsons with luxury-tax money. The Rockets general manager overplayed his hand, the big game went elsewhere. This left the Rockets with no big game to hunt, and Parsons partying with Mark Cuban. The Rockets decided rather then have Parsons as their third 'star' under the luxury-tax, and Morey would wait for the next crop of stars to go hunting once more.
Well, Chandler Parsons was given an opportunity to speak his mind about the whole process Monday. Parsons talked with Yahoo Sports' Marc J. Spears -
Honestly, I was offended by the whole process," Parsons told Yahoo Sports on Monday in a phone interview. "They publicly said that they were going out looking for a third star when I thought they had one right in front of them.
Of course most players would have the enough confidence in themselves to always think they will reach another level in their careers. But, I fail to see the offense in the fact the Rockets wanted to build a stronger championship team and pay Parsons more money.
You can't knock them for always trying to get better. [Houston general manager] Daryl Morey is very aggressive, is a genius, a great GM and I have nothing but respect for those guys. And they are looking to make their team better. That's what they were doing. I just thought I could be that guy that could do that
Many assumed the Rockets and Parsons had a 'wink wink' deal, but I guess the allure of clubbing with Mark Cuban was too much. Houston appeared ready to match any offer at the outset of free agency, but changed their minds in the end.
"Throughout the whole process they pretty much told me they were going to match everything," Parsons said. "I understand it's a business. I understand they had to do what they thought was best for their organization. It definitely caught me off-guard a little bit."
"Dallas is the perfect match to where I am in my career," Parsons said. "It's where I can take that next step. They have a great organization. Mark is the best owner in all of sports. I get a chance to play with Dirk for however much longer he has. It will be unbelievable to learn and grown from him and the guys they have.
"We got a chance to win. Coach [Rick] Carlisle is the best coach in the NBA. It's the perfect situation for me. I'm ready for more leadership. I'm ready for a bigger role. They came at me with a high max offer and viewed me as a franchise player. That's what I wanted."
"I'm the best recruiter in the NBA," Parsons said. "Whatever Mark and the Mavericks need, they got me to do that."
Enjoy your time recruiting in Dallas Chandler Parsons. I'm sure this will be a fun game again when Dwight Howard's contract ends in Houston or he opts out after next season.