Houston Rockets small forward and restricted free agent Chandler Parsons has agreed to, and signed a three-year, $45 million offer sheet with the Dallas Mavericks, officially putting Houston on notice, as they now have just 72 hours to decide whether or not they will match the massive offer.
Although the Rockets have said that they will match any offer for the 25-year-old Parsons, the timing of the deal comes at a very inopportune time for the team, as it could have a tremendous impact on their ability to sign star free agent Chris Bosh.
While it is possible that Houston could bring Bosh in and still retain Parsons, they will need to make a number of crucial moves in a specific order over the next three days. First, in order to free up the necessary cap space to sign Bosh to the four- year, $88 million max contract they have already offered him, the Rockets will need to get rid of Jeremy Lin’s contract through a trade. Then, they would need to get Bosh to actually sign the deal, something that would likely only happen if LeBron James does indeed sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Finally, Houston would then be able to match the Mavericks’ offer sheet with Parsons.
In other words, if James does not announce his decision soon, the Houston Rockets could very likely miss out on one, or even both of their prized free agents.
One thing for sure, however, is that Parsons’ new deal has been well deserved. The three-year veteran has far exceeded expectations since being drafted in the second round (38th overall) of the 2011 NBA draft, developing into a nice scoring threat for the Rockets. Last season, he averaged 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.
It’s a win-win situation for Dallas, as even if they don’t end up getting to keep Parsons, they will rest easy knowing that they put their cross-state and division rival in a very tough situation.
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