NBA Rumors: Chandler Parsons to the Dallas Mavericks?

Restricted free agent Chandler Parsons could be on his way to the Dallas Mavericks. NBA rumors have surfaced, courtesy of Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, that the Mavericks are “pushing on an offer sheet” in an effort to bring Parsons to Dallas. The Rockets would love to hold onto Parsons, but now that they’re aggressively pursuing Chris Bosh, it may prove to be difficult.

Bringing Parsons to Dallas to pair with Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki would be a tremendous fit — basically the same kind of fit he had in Houston with James Harden and Dwight Howard. The major bonus in going to Dallas is that Parsons wouldn’t have to create offense for himself nearly as often.

Parsons has shown signs of improvement in just about every major category since entering the league. He’s become a more active rebounder, a much improved passer and he’s held his own defensively at small forward, which tends to be one of the most difficult positions in the NBA to defend. At 6-foot-9, he’s long enough to bother a guy like Kevin Durant, Paul George or even LeBron James.

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According to 82games.com, Parsons held opposing small forwards to a 14.6 efficiency rating, which would rank Parsons in the average category. He’s not looking at becoming a first-team defender, nor is he going to make the All-NBA team this season, but he’s trending in the right direction and would flourish in Dallas’ system.

There’s no question that the Rockets would love to hold onto Parsons, but it appears unlikely they’ll be able to get both Bosh and Parsons. It will all boil down to what happens with the offer to Bosh. With the four-year, $88 million offer to Bosh, the Rockets would have (after moving Jeremy Lin‘s $8.4 million) about $64 million in salary, which would essentially max them out.