Expectations were high for Chandler Parsons after he signed a massive three-year, $46 million dollar offer sheet from the Dallas Mavericks. The offer was far more than the Houston Rockets anticipated Parsons’ receiving in free agency and they made the decision to let their talented young forward join an in-state division rival.
In order to land Parsons, the Mavericks’ had to pay above market value in order to put the Houston Rockets in a difficult position. Retaining Parsons at over $15 million per season would severely inhibit the Rockets flexibility moving forward. This was a certainly a gamble, but it was one that paid off for Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson.
Parsons joined the Mavericks and he came into Dallas with the expectations that come along with such a lucrative free agent contract. There is a learning curve that comes with changing teams, but it’s more difficult for a young player the first time they leave the coaching staff and team that originally drafted them.
This was the case for Parsons through the early part of his first season in Dallas. Through his first 21 games as a member of the Mavericks, Parsons averaged 14.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. While his averages were solid, his shooting percentage from the field and three-point range left something to be desired. Signed as a sharp shooting big man, Parsons only connected of 41 percent of his shots from the field, and he hit only 32 percent of his three-point attempts.
It was evident when watching Parsons on the court that he had yet to find his comfort zone in Dallas. One of his main issues was his shooting form, which was inconsistent for a number of reasons. When a shooter is in a groove, his release point and shooting form are consistent. This was not for the case early for Parsons in Dallas. In trying to fit in the Mavericks roster, he became tentative and failed to play with the same level of confidence that he displayed in Houston.
There were flashes of the player that Dallas worked so hard to lure to away from their Southwest Division rivals and the hope was that he would slowly round into form once he became acclimated with his new coaching staff, teammates and surroundings.
Parsons failed to scored more than 20 points in all but five of his first 20 games Dallas, but he has turned it on of late, averaging 23 points per game on 56 percent shooting in his last six contests. In addition to becoming more acclimated with his surroundings, Parsons appears to be healthy again after dealing with a lingering back injury.
Just as Parsons’ was finding his groove, the Mavericks’ pulled off the biggest trade of the 2014-15 season when they acquired Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo on Dec. 18. Rondo is an elite passer and leads the NBA in assists per game (10.7). Adding a player of Rondo’s caliber should improve the looks Parsons’ receives on offense.
Parsons’ spoke to the media after Rondo’s debut on Dec. 20 and elaborated on why he thinks Rondo will improve his game and the Mavericks team as a whole:
"“You could tell he can do a little bit of everything, he’s smooth, he pushes the ball and gets us in our sets. He can obviously pass the ball really, really well. He rebounds for his position, and he causes havoc defensively with his length and his size. I think he’s going to help our offense just pushing the ball. He’s got great players playing around him, so we should be able to make his job a little easier. I think he’ll be a great fit.”"
Dallas invested a significant portion of their payroll in Chandler Parsons during the offseason in hopes he would add another dimension to the Mavericks offense. While the results may not have been immediate, Parsons is beginning to consistently demonstrate what Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson saw in him.
The Mavericks currently have the highest scoring offense in the NBA at 109.7 points per game, with the addition of Rondo and the improvements that Parsons has recently displayed, they could be even better by season’s end.