Chandler Parsons

Western Notes: Parsons, Crabbe, Jones, Motiejunas

November 20th, 2016 at 9:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons is expected to miss up to two weeks with a bone bruise in his left knee, posts Tim MacMahon on ESPN Now. It’s not the same knee that Parsons had surgically repaired twice. He missed the start of this season while recovering from the latest operation in March and has played just six games for Memphis, which signed him to a four-year, $94MM deal this summer.

There’s more from the Western Conference:

Trail Blazers shooting guard Allen Crabbe didn’t believe the Nets’ $75MM offer sheet was real when he first heard about it, relays Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily. Portland matched the four-year deal, keeping Crabbe in a Blazers uniform, but he would have been happy to come to Brooklyn if things had worked out differently. “When I met with them, they were straightforward and told me, ‘Look we’ve got a lot of young guys here that are looking to compete. We’re going to try and build from here,’” Crabbe said. “So you know, I felt like that was a positive first step going into something good being built here. I liked everything about how they were going to use me. But you know, everything happens for a reason and I’m back here and I’m happy with that.”
Circumstances allowed Suns rookie Derrick Jones to make his NBA debut close to home, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. A native of Chester, Pa., Jones was recalled from the D-League after T.J. Warren was struck by illness and couldn’t travel to Saturday’s game at Philadelphia. Family members watched as Jones played the final 2:41. “I love the game and I love being part of the team,” he said. “I’m thankful. Out of all places, I’m coming back home for my call-up game. I got to pray and hope that I stay here now.”
The Rockets continue to hold contract talks with representatives for Donatas Motiejunas, tweets Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. “Good discussions” have been reported with the free agent power forward over the last few weeks, but they haven’t resulted in progress toward a contract.

Western Notes: Parsons, Sterling, Gibson

November 18th, 2016 at 7:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Chandler Parsons returns to Dallas tonight, which will be his first visit since departing the Mavericks as a free agent this summer, and while the forward expects to be booed, he believes fan anger is misplaced, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays. “Houston, I get it. I said some stupid stuff on the way out of Houston [after three seasons],” Parsons told MacMahon. “Dallas, I don’t understand. It’s like getting mad at somebody for getting in a car wreck and breaking their arm. Like, how in the world can you be mad at somebody for getting hurt? It makes no sense. That’s just so wrong to get mad at somebody for getting hurt, like they want to go through the rehab, want to go through the pain, want to go through the misery of not playing. I can never understand that aspect of it. So when it comes to Dallas, you’re going to get mad at me because Dirk Nowitzki decided to take less money to bring in a really good player and then unfortunately he gets hurt? That’s why you’re mad? Sure, boo.”

While he maintains that his first choice was to remain in Dallas, Parsons is happy with his new team in Memphis, MacMahon adds. “I think it’s a perfect situation for me,” said Parsons. “I see so much potential that I can add to this team. It just kind of solidifies that I made the right decision.” Here’s more from out West:

Former Clippers owner Donald Sterling has reached a settlement with the NBA in his lawsuit over the $2 billion sale of the team to Steve Ballmer, Nathan Fenno of The Los Angeles Times reports. The suit was filed back in 2014 and alleged that the NBA, commissioner Adam Silver and others engaged in a wide-ranging conspiracy to remove him as owner of the team, Fenno adds. The details and value of the settlement were not released to the media.
Jonathan Gibson, who signed with the Mavericks earlier today, turned down offers to play in China while he awaited an NBA opportunity to materialize, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets.
The Nuggets can’t afford to be patient with the disappointing play of Emmanuel Mudiay for much longer if the team hopes to show improvement in the win column this season, Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post writes. “Let’s be honest, if there’s a situation where [Mudiay] is not playing well, or anybody else is not playing well, we have the depth to make changes,” coach Michael Malone said. “We want to win games. A big part of last year was culture and development. This year … if we’re healthy, we feel it needs to be about winning, as well, to get our fans back and to feel good about the direction we’re heading in.”

Chandler Parsons Had Expected To Retire A Mav

November 18th, 2016 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

With the Grizzlies set to face the Mavericks tonight, Chandler Parsons will be playing in Dallas for the first time as a member of his new team, assuming his troublesome left knee doesn’t act up. With that game just hours away, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon revisited Parsons’ departure from the Mavs this offseason, providing some interesting details and suggesting that the veteran forward was somewhat caught off guard by the divorce.

“Throughout the whole process going into free agency, I always thought Dallas was going to be the place,” Parsons said. “I thought [Mark Cuban and I] had a mutual understanding that I was going to be there for the whole time and I was going to retire a Mav. Obviously, the second surgery gave him a little doubt, and I believe some people got in his head about it.”

Parsons tells MacMahon that he would have been willing to accept “a lot less” than a maximum-salary contract to remain in Dallas, where he was comfortable, despite his agent’s assurances that he’d receive max offers on the open market. In addition to the Grizzlies, the Trail Blazers appeared willing to offer Parsons a max deal.

While the Mavs were reportedly never interested in offering Parsons the max, the 28-year-old says Cuban assured him the club was having productive talks with agent Dan Fegan, and that the Mavs owner was confident the two sides could work out a four-term deal. Asked by ESPN about those comments, Cuban shook his head, evidently disagreeing with Parsons’ account, writes MacMahon.

According to MacMahon, the Mavs’ brain trust – including president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, head coach Rick Carlisle, head athletic trainer Casey Smith, and Dirk Nowitzki – “shared a consensus concern” about a long-term contract for Parsons, given his knee problems. Uncertain about a long-term commitment, Cuban and the Mavs encouraged Parsons to pick up his player option, which would have paid him about $16MM for one last season in Dallas, putting him in line for a lucrative multiyear deal in 2017 if he could stay healthy. Parsons considered the suggestion “pretty ludicrous,” per MacMahon.

“Obviously that sounds nice, but why risk it? My concern is the same as them. You’re worried about paying my knee,” Parsons said. “You don’t want to pay me long term. These other really, really good teams do. If it’s too much of a risk for them to pay me for four years, it’s way too much of a risk for me to turn down guaranteed $94MM right now. It would make no sense, and no fan, no human, no one in the right mind would not do what I did.”

For more on the Mavs/Parsons split, Parsons’ role in the DeAndre Jordan saga in 2015, and his decision to sign with the Grizzlies, be sure to check out MacMahon’s full piece, which is chock full of interesting tidbits.

Southwest Notes: Howard, Parsons, Hill, Matthews

November 6th, 2016 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dwight Howard may be gone, but the Rockets are still benefiting from the teaching he did with younger players, writes Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. Howard signed with the Hawks this summer after three seasons in Houston, but he left an impression on Rockets big men Clint Capela, Montrezl Harrell and Sam Dekker. “Dwight was a great guy; nobody gets to really see the type of person he is off the court,” Harrell said. “Everybody sees him on the court and thinks he’s childish or he’s a big kid. He’s a great guy with the time I spent with Dwight. He cares about everybody on and off the court. He has a heart that’s so big. Whenever I came out of a game, we were always communicating.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Chandler Parsons will make his Grizzlies debut this afternoon instead of Tuesday as originally expected, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. Parsons, who signed a four-year, $94MM deal with Memphis, hasn’t played since he had surgery on his right knee in March. “Felt great in workout. I’m ready to rock,” Parsons wrote in a text message. “No reason to wait.”
Solomon Hill signed with the Pelicans over the offseason, but coach Alvin Gentry had his eye on the fourth-year small forward for a long time, relays Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Hill played college ball at Arizona while Gentry was the head coach in Phoenix, and Gentry wanted to trade for him last season. “I just think he’s a good, solid guy,” Gentry said. “He’s a guy who is trying to find himself in what we’re doing. I told him I think he’s trying to fit in too much. He’s a guy who just needs to be who he is. That’s why we signed him.”
Wesley Matthews, who joined the Mavericks in 2015, appears to be one of the building blocks for the team’s future, writes Adam Grosbard of The Dallas Morning News. Matthews is adopting an increased leadership role as Dallas tries to rebound from its slow start. “He’s become one of the faces of our team,” said coach Rick Carlisle. “Just his intensity, his presence out there as our best perimeter defender and just his attitude and stuff like that is a big part of who we are. He’s knowledgeable and relentless and he has great pride [on defense].”

Southwest Notes: Harden, Howard, Parsons

November 5th, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

James Harden insists he had no “beef” with former teammate Dwight Howard, relays Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Howard, who signed with the Hawks in the offseason, will face Harden and the Rockets tonight in Atlanta. There were many stories of discord between the two stars during last year’s 41-41 season, but Harden says there are no lingering bad feelings. “I know what the truth is,” Harden said. “There’s no beef. We never got into a heated argument or anything. It just didn’t work out.”

There’s more news from the Southwest Division:

New Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, who was hired at the start of June, never made an appeal to Howard to stay with the team, Feigen adds in the same piece. Houston focused on former Hawks center Al Horford in free agency, and there was a feeling that a low-post player like Howard wouldn’t be effective in D’Antoni’s system. “I don’t think I was the right guy to have conversations,” said D’Antoni, who briefly coached Howard with the Lakers. “I’m sure there were conversations with [GM] Daryl [Morey]. If he wanted to come back, great. That wasn’t my role to have conversations.”
Chandler Parsons is expected to play his first game for the Grizzlies on Tuesday, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. It will be the small forward’s first time on the court since undergoing right knee surgery in March when he was still with Dallas. Memphis signed Parsons to a four-year, $94MM contract this summer.
The Mavericks‘ Dirk Nowitzki will be “shut down” for at least a week after aggravating an Achilles problem Friday, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Nowitzki said he has been experiencing pain in that area since the season opener. “He’s going to be out for a while,” explained coach Rick Carlisle. “We’ll update [things] in about seven days. He didn’t reinjure the Achilles, it’s just lingering. It’s not getting better the way it needs to, so we got to shut him down. Is it bad news, yes. But we’ll get through it. His health is the most important thing. He’s more than willing to continue playing, but it’s pretty obvious that things just aren’t right. We’ve got to do the right thing here and get it fixed.”

Mavericks Notes: Barnes, Parsons, Curry

October 22nd, 2016 at 3:57pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavs owner Mark Cuban recently joined “Jacques & Will” on 103.3 FM ESPN Radio to discuss a number of topics related to the team (h/t Dallas Morning News). Dallas essentially chose Harrison Barnes over Chandler Parsons, who signed with Memphis this summer, and Cuban noted that Barnes wasn’t viewed merely as a fallback option. “No knock on Chandler. Chandler’s skill is skill but we had the uncertainties I’ve talked about,” Cuban said. “There were questions about his knee and I hope he fights through them and there’s never a question again about his knee but we had those questions. If Harrison Barnes would’ve been an unrestricted free agent, he would’ve been first on our list and that’s who we would have gone after right off the bat. We think defensively he gives us a new look, he can guard 1-4 and in some cases with small-ball 1-5, so when you have Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews and Justin Anderson in particular, and him and Andrew Bogut, that gives us a dimension we otherwise haven’t had in a long time. On the other side of the ball, Harrison isn’t as crafty as Chandler but he’s a lot more physical and he can post up and he shoots about the same from three-point [range]; mid-range isn’t as good yet but his post-up game is better. So I think it’s a different dimension but it’s a lot more athletic.”

The owner also weighed in on the perception that Dallas keeps missing out on its top targets. “We got the guy [Harrison Barnes] we wanted this year. Like I said, we couldn’t go after him and make him our first call on July 1st because he was restricted, so certain things had to happen,” Cuban said. “Had he been unrestricted, that would’ve been our first choice and then it would’ve been a different conversation. The whole thing that we don’t get the big name free agents, I think is just nonsense. We think we have a great organization, we have a top three coach and we’ve got a culture you’d like to play in. My job is to put the players in a position to succeed. We give you every resource you need. I spare no expense trying to win and trying to make sure you’re healthy and we can extend your career.”

Here’s more out of Dallas:

Coach Rick Carlisle indicated that the Mavs will carry the regular season maximum of 15 players, which means that four or five players will be fighting over the final slot, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets.
Seth Curry has struggled to find a home in the NBA during his brief career and believes that he has finally found his ideal situation with the Mavericks, Leo Sepkowitz of Slamonline.com relays. “The past few years I’ve been in the League, I’ve really noticed how important that structure and direction is for a team,” Curry says. “Going to a place that’s already established, where I can just come in and get better and keep doing things the right way, it’s gonna make it a lot easier to win. I don’t want to take what I did last year and then take a step back. I want to move forward, grow from it and be a consistent NBA player.”

And-Ones: Parsons, CBA, Pierce, Delfino

October 13th, 2016 at 7:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Chandler Parsons has been lobbying the Grizzlies to give him medical clearance to play but his new team is playing things cautiously, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reports. Parsons is rehabbing from March knee surgery and the Grizzlies don’t want him to have any setbacks when he returns to the court, MacMahon continues. Parsons received a four-year, $94MM contract despite the injury he suffered while playing for the Mavericks last season. “He’s definitely making great progress,” Grizzlies coach David Fizdale told MacMahon. “He’s doing a lot of drills with us right now where he’s not hitting, per se. It’s just very scripted, but he’s moving full speed. … I’d rather have him for 75 games than four and he’s out.”

In other developments around the league:

Taking care of retired players is a priority in the Collective Bargaining Agreement talks, Cavs superstar LeBron James told Jon Krawczynski and Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. The NBA and its players have agreed that the next CBA will include new league-funded programs to help retired players with education and medical expenses, four people with knowledge of the situation told the AP. In exchange for those programs, and pending full approval from both sides, the split of basketball-related income would remain the same “50-50” deal as it is in the current agreement, the AP story adds. “We’ve all built this league together,” James said told the AP. “No matter how big of a guy you were or if you were the 15th guy on the bench, we all built this league into what it is today. But it’s not just my idea. I’m not taking any credit for that.”
Paul Pierce isn’t a fan of Kevin Durant‘s decision to join the Warriors, as he discussed on a Sirius XM Radio interview that was relayed by NBA.com. The Clippers forward believes Durant should have stayed with the Thunder, rather than join the franchise that vanquished his former team in the Western Conference playoffs. “I understand when you have great players on losing teams who are tired of losing, struggling in the playoffs every year,” Pierce said. “You’re the lone star. I’ve been in that position. I could have left Boston years ago, but I stuck it out. I just feel like when you’re that close, as a competitor, you don’t go join the team that just put you out.”
Fortitudo Bologna in Italy is still hopeful of signing ex-NBA swingman Carlos Delfino, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Delfino, 34, last played in the NBA in 2012/13, when he appeared in 67 games for the Rockets.

And-Ones: Payne, Duke, Belinelli

September 14th, 2016 at 11:46am CST by Eddie Scarito

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is barring NBA teams from scouting his program’s practices this season – except for two pro days scheduled in October, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. NBA executives were extended invitations to the pro days on October 19th and 25th at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the second of which coincides with the opening night of the NBA regular season, Duke informed front offices on Tuesday, Wojnarowski adds. The university currently has two freshmen forwards, Jason Tatum and Harry Giles, who are ranked in DraftExpress’ top five projected players in the 2017 NBA draft, as well as junior guard Grayson Allen, who is ranked in the top 25.

Here’s more from around the league:

It’s been less than two months since Cameron Payne underwent surgery on his right foot to repair a Jones fracture and the Thunder guard is on track to be ready for the start of training camp, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes. But despite his solid progress, Payne doesn’t want to rush things and risk a setback, Horne adds. “I’m getting back into things,” Payne said. “I’m shooting, jumping around, running. Everything’s been going great. I hope I’m ready as soon as the first day comes. But I don’t want to rush anything. I want to be perfectly ready. One-hundred percent. It’s really day-by-day, but right now, the things that we’re doing, we’re going at 100%.”
The five players in the Western Conference who will make the biggest impact this season after changing teams, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com, are: Harrison Barnes (Mavs), Kevin Durant (Warriors), Chandler Parsons (Grizzlies), Evan Turner (Blazers) and Joe Johnson (Jazz).
Hornets coach Steve Clifford praised the team’s draft day deal to acquire Marco Belinelli from the Kings in exchange for the rights to No. 22 overall pick, Malachi Richardson, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer tweets. The coach noted that a player selected at that draft spot would not have been able to contribute this season, unlike the veteran shooting guard they obtained in the swap, Bonnell relays.

Mark Cuban On: Barnes, Parsons, Curry

July 29th, 2016 at 6:38pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Outspoken Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban joined The Afternoon Show with Cowlishaw and Mosley on ESPN Radio 103.3 KESN-FM (h/t to The Dallas Morning News) to discuss the team’s offseason and a number of other topics. The entire interview is worth a look, but here are some of the highlights:

On the Mavs switching to Plan B this offseason after missing out on a number of their top targets:

“We got lucky. There’s not other way to say it. We knew we were long shots with both Hassan Whiteside and with Mike Conley. We knew Mike Conley wasn’t going to turn down the largest contract in NBA history. But we also know that it’s not just about the short-term, it’s the long-term. We wanted to introduce the Mavericks, our style and our organization to both of them because you never know when they’re going to be available in a trade. You never know next free agency. So many things can happen over a period of time in an NBA.

Look what happened with D-Will (Deron Williams). I think our presentation to him from coach and Donnie [Nelson] in particular really set the groundwork for him understanding who we are. On one hand, we didn’t expect to get them to come to the Mavs, but we still think it served a function. From there Harrison Barnes reached out to me at 12:01 like, ‘Dude I want to come there. You’re my first pick, my only pick.’ I went back-and-forth with him like, ‘Yeah, we’d love you too but you’re a restricted free agent. Here’s our course of action. Here’s what we’re going to do.’ I laid it all out for him. He was like, ‘Okay, we’ll see what happens but you guys are my team.’ Fortunately it turned out the way it did.”

On essentially choosing Barnes of Chandler Parsons this summer:

“Can’t go into any details, but I’ll just say it wasn’t a basketball issue. Chandler obviously is a very, very skilled player. There’s a lot of great things to his game. But he’s, in essence, a different player from Harrison. Harrison is longer, more athletic, younger. Just like Chandler really didn’t get a chance to have his game blossom when he was with the Rockets. He just showed glimpses of it because of Dwight Howard and James Harden being there. I think Harrison was kind of in the same role. I think we’re going to give Harrison the opportunity and I know he’s excited about the opportunity to really shine and be a featured guy for us.”

On if Dallas is a better team now than in 2015/16:

“You never know until you know. That’s why we play the games. If you look at last year you look at New Orleans, you look at Houston, you just don’t know. I would have told you last year, and I think I did tell you guys, that we’re about eight sprained ankles away from being a top contender. Now we’re probably only three, maybe four. You just don’t know. Look at Portland and what happened there. You just don’t know.

But I do think we’re a better team. I know we’re far better defensively. I know we’re far more athletic. I think we’ve got more athletic depth. We will miss at some point the Ray Felton’s. There will be game situations where having that veteran presence would have been nice to have. But I really think between Juan Barea, Devin Harris and D-Will (Williams) we’ll make up for a lot of that. I think the explosiveness and the scoring punch of Jonathan Gibson and Seth Curry will more than make up for it.”

On what he expects to receive from Seth Curry:

“A dysfunctional team in Sacramento at the end of the year he played team ball. He struggled some to stick within kind of a dysfunctional system. But when he got the minutes and when he started he put up great numbers. But more importantly, from a catch-and-shoot perspective he’s almost automatic from three. We really didn’t have that. We didn’t have that guy where situationally you just knew if you can get him open he was going to hit that open three. We miss that 42-43% three-point shooter. We just didn’t have it. We think we have that with Seth. I think it’ll make life a little bit easier for Dirk Nowitzki. It’ll allow us to push the ball more and I think it’ll make everybody’s lives a bit easier.“

Western Notes: Oladipo, Beasley, Cuban, Parsons

July 24th, 2016 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Victor Oladipo had 10 days to enjoy being teammates with Kevin Durant, writes Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. That was the time between Oladipo’s arrival in Oklahoma City in a draft-night trade and Durant’s departure for Golden State as a free agent. But now that the shock of Durant’s decision is starting to wear off, Oladipo looks forward to helping the Thunder rebuild. He will team with one of the best point guards in the game in Russell Westbrook and a young roster that inclues Enes Kanter (24), Steven Adams (23), Andre Roberson (24), Cameron Payne (22) and Alex Abrines (22). “We could do something really special,” Oladipo said. “I really believe we can. I think it’s gonna be crazy to watch, crazy to be a part of. We could overwhelm guys on both ends of the floor.”

There’s more tonight from the Western Conference:

At 27 and with a job already secured, the Rockets‘ Michael Beasley seemed out of place on a summer league roster. But Beasley played just one game before settling into the role of a mentor, and he tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe that he has a lot to share with younger players. Beasley was the second pick in the 2008 draft, but off-court incidents and issues with defense forced him out of the league. He signed with the Rockets late last season after playing in China. “I’ve been one to take my game seriously, but it’s just a little more special, a little more precious, just slow down and enjoy the ride this time,” Beasley said. “My first time, I was 19, 20 years old, I thought I knew everything and y’all gave me all the money in the world, so I wasn’t thinking to look at y’all [in the eye] anymore. I’m doing it the right way this time, slowing down, enjoying the process, falling in love with the process. You see young players and I try to give them a little bit of what I learned and what I’ve been through.”
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he and Chandler Parsons remain friends even though the free agent forward decided to sign with the Grizzlies, relays The Dallas Morning News. In an interview on 105.3-FM The Fan’s “Ben and Skin Show,” Cuban said “things other than basketball” factored into the decision. “We gave him some options and he went in a different direction,” Cuban said. “That was his choice and I respect it and again, I think he’s a great guy and I hope he has a great season other than the four games we play him.”

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