There were a lot of raised eyebrows when the Houston Rockets opted to let Chandler Parsons out of his contract a year early. Parsons was considered a bargain for the relatively cheap rookie contract that Houston had him under.
Parsons would have made $964,750 if the Rockets had picked up his fourth year offer, a far cry from the three year $46 million deal that he signed with the Dallas Mavericks over the offseason. Letting Parsons enter free agency was always a risk for Houston, but details have emerged that there were plans were in the works for them to decline his option since last summer. While negotiating Dwight Howard’s contract with the Houston Rockets in 2013, his agent Dan Fegan was said to have made an arrangement with the Rockets to allow Parsons a chance to become a restricted free agent once the season concluded.
According to the report by Clutchfans:
By letting Parsons out of his contract, the Rockets were simply honoring an agreement they made with his agent in 2013 when they signed Dwight Howard.
As I’ve been told, Howard’s agent Dan Fegan did not want Dwight in Houston, preferring instead to steer him to another team. Reportedly, that team was Dallas as the agent has a relationship and comfort level with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Dwight preferred Houston. To seal the deal for the premier free agent, Fegan provided the Rockets a list of needs/demands to bring him here and one of them was to let Chandler Parsons, who also was represented by Fegan, out of his contract this summer rather than wait until 2015.
(It should be noted that though I have no idea what other items would be on that list, there were two “interesting” things that happened around that time — the Rockets hired Howard’s former trainer with the Orlando Magic and they later added Dwight’s brother to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, though it was largely believed that he wasn’t a good enough prospect to make that jump. See JR Smith-Chris Smith for how nepotism package deals can work.)
Parsons has since publicly denied that the decision by the Rockets had anything to do with Howard, but I’ve been told by multiple sources that it’s true.
Clutchfan also goes on to outline several reasons that hint towards this being the real reason why Parson’s fourth year option was declined. One of the more pivotal points certainly adds fuel to the fire.
News that the Rockets would decline the team option and make Chandler a restricted free agent leaked nearly a month before the deadline the Rockets had to make that decision. This may not seem excessive, but when you consider that the NBA Draft — the hotbed time of player movement throughout the league — was still to occur and could impact the decision, it seemed silly that the front office would be able to say it with certainty at that point. I’ve since talked to people who were told by Chandler himself during the 2013-14 season that the plan was to make him a restricted free agent. No mention of why, but he apparently knew even then that the team option was not going to be picked up.
While this could all be seen as coincidental, there is reason to believe that this was indeed the case. As Parson’s agent, it would have been in his best interests to negotiate an early release out of his rookie contract. Whether Parsons still would have signed with Dallas or returned to Houston, the minute he became a free agent he was all but guaranteed a substantial raise in salary. Perhaps not the price tag that Mark Cuban acquired him with, but certainly more than the fourth year option he would have received under his prior deal.
Obviously none of this matters now, as Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons are both secured to multi-year deals with their respective teams, but reports such as these certainly make you wonder.
Other News Around The League:
Minnesota Timberwolves GM Milt Newton won’t make any rush moves in getting point guard Ricky Rubio signed to a contract extension. It was reported over the summer that Rubio would be looking for a max deal from the Timberwolves. Per Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press:
”We’re going to look at the situation the same way we did with Kevin,” Newton said. ”We’re going to do the best thing for the organization, and if we can get something done sooner, great. If not, we’re not necessarily in a rush.”
If Rubio becomes a restricted free agent, the Wolves could match any offer he receives on the open market. As it stands today, they don’t appear willing to offer the five-year maximum contract that former team president David Kahn was saving for Rubio, but Newton said there would be an advantage to getting a deal done before the season starts as opposed until waiting until next summer.
”Going forward, you want to show good will and trust in a player,” Newton said. ”So it can kind of go both ways whether you wait or do something now, but it has to be right for both sides.”
Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade credits former NBA commissioner David Stern for helping with his fashion sense. It was during Stern’s tenure that the NBA adopted a dress code for the players. Per the Associated Press:
The Miami Heat star says while he always was a fan of fine dressing, it wasn’t until the former commissioner of the league instituted a dress code that he started taking more interest in what he would wear off the court.
“It was like, `OK, now we got to really dress up and we can’t just throw on a sweat suit,”‘ he said. “Then it became a competition amongst guys and now you really got into it more and you started to really understand the clothes you put on your body, the materials you’re starting to wear, so then you become even more of a fan of it.”
Now Wade is considered among the more fashion-forward stars in a league where players dress to impress. Wade admits there’s some competition among the league – and sometimes they take it over the top in what they wear in postgame press conference.
“Obviously sometimes we push the envelope, and I think it’s because we’re athletes,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “We’re not looked at as guys who should wear certain things. Being flamboyant is being OK.”
The Sacramento Kings announced that they have signed free agents Omri Casspi and Ryan Hollins. Terms of the deals were not disclosed. It was originally reported in July by ESPN’s Marc Stein that Casspi would be returning to the Kings. Hollins announced his excitement about joining the team Thursday on Twitter. Per the AP, brief bios for both players are included in the report: Sacramento selected Casspi 23rd overall in the 2009 draft. He was the first Israeli-born player to be drafted by an NBA team and play in the league. Casspi has averaged 7.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 20.7 minutes in his career with Sacramento, Cleveland and Houston. He averaged 6.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in 71 games with the Rockets last season. Hollins has averaged 3.8 points, 2.2 rebounds in his eight-year career. He has played for Charlotte, Dallas, Minnesota, Cleveland, Boston and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Esau Howard is a regular contributor to Sheridan Hoops. You can follow him on Twitter.
Great post.