Chandler Parsons: It's Very Early To Judge Value Of Deal With Grizzlies

[RealGM Wiretap]

Chandler Parsons has battled injuries and ineffectiveness in the first season of a four-year, $94 million contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Parsons was asked if he believes the Grizzlies will ultimately get their money's worth out of his contract.

"I think so. I think we’re five months into a four-year contract. I think it’s a little dramatic and a little early to judge someone coming off two very serious surgeries, in a new city, on a new team, a new everything. It's very early to judge that. The upper management, when I talk to Chris Wallace, when I talk to Joe Abadi, those guys tell me, “Look, we brought you here for four years.”

Parsons was asked if his issues could be mental or if there's still a big physical element.

"I’m physically in pain. I’m well enough to play, obviously, but I’m going to go through soreness. The good thing is I’ve been through this already and it’s nothing I’m not used to. And I know my body better now. But, yeah, I think a lot of it is mental. Nobody wants to play well more than I do. I know a lot of people are getting frustrated and, trust me, they’re not more frustrated than I am. I’m in the gym every single day. The worst part is, when you have surgeries like this, this summer I could work on my body, I could work on my strength, I could work on my conditioning, but I couldn’t really work on my game, so now I’m basically working on my game in NBA games and it’s showing. I’m missing a lot of shots, I’m missing shots that I usually make."

Via Geoff Calkins/Memphis Commercial Appeal

[Hoopzilla]

This was a bad deal as soon as it was completed. It is not too early to judge. The only common thread with this guy is that is injured more than he plays. He has never played 82 games in a season in his 5 full seasons and has already missed time this season. This guy has legit talent, but it is obvious that he cannot stay healthy enough for the talent to matter. He says it's only five months into a four year contract. It is more accurate to say you are close to 1/4 way through the contract and given almost nothing. Since we are five months into a six month season, 1/4 way through the contract is more accurate, but it is obvious Parsons is just trying to minimize the damage at this point and give the fans some sort of hope that he may actually give something of benefit for the $94 million he is taking home. I would have a grain of respect for this guy if he were honest instead of just trying to blow smoke.

[Hullajelolt]

So you say he should tell the fans, "sorry, this is what I'm capable of"? The next thing any athlete would do after this sentence is to retire.

I'm not defending Parsons here, he was always overrated, but you never stop your fans to stop believing in you. especially after this paycheck.

[Hoopzilla]

I think he could simply speak the truth and say they are getting what they could expect from a guy with his known injury history. He's not going to come out and say that but there is no need to pretend like he is going to be worth his contract and everyone knows it. No need to try and minimize it either, it is what it is. Bad signing.

[Valard]

I will rationally agree that he should not come out and say "hey I stole your money"...

...but every bit of me hates how much this guy has fleeced back to back organizations regardless of how stupid they were for paying him in the first place.

At least come out and say something like "year one hasn't gone as planned but I am going to continue to work my ass off coming off these injuries and strive to be the player that you are paying for".

The hey its only 5 months in and too soon to judge approach pisses me off because he sounds like a used car salesmen.

[12footrim]

"I think so. I think we’re five months into a four-year contract."

or 74% of an entire year in which you missed half of it and are on a minutes restriction when you do play. You can just about go ahead and call 25% of this contract in the books. He's making a lot of excuses too. He's 28 years old, it's going to be hard for him to ever be worth this contract already with this year as bad as it is and the next three in his decline. That's assuming he can even stay on the court. Being on the court is pretty much the baseline, without it the conversation pretty much stops. One reason I'm not as high on Embid. These youthful years should be the healthiest and it's a bad sign for the first year of a contract or your early 20's because typically it only gets worse.

[12footrim]

I will rationally agree that he should not come out and say "hey I stole your money"...

...but every bit of me hates how much this guy has fleeced back to back organizations regardless of how stupid they were for paying him in the first place.

At least come out and say something like "year one hasn't gone as planned but I am going to continue to work my ass off coming off these injuries and strive to be the player that you are paying for".

The hey its only 5 months in and too soon to judge approach pisses me off because he sounds like a used car salesmen.

That was my thought. Why not just say the year hasn't went as planned and move on. Everyone knows that's a bad contract already that very well could end up being one of the worst ever.

[Tiesto_Lakers]

I follow this guy on Instagram and anyone can clearly see he's not about working on his game and becoming a better player. His best days are behind him and that's a fact. He always had sneaky athleticism, but now he's just a 29 year old, past-his-prime, injury proned player who's loving the life as an NBA player.

He says he only works on his game during games because of injuries? Maybe he shouldn't have gone to Mexico to party during the All-star weekend (a full week). Anyone who follows him on social media knows what he's about.

[Hoopzilla]

I follow this guy on Instagram and anyone can clearly see he's not about working on his game and becoming a better player. His best days are behind him and that's a fact. He always had sneaky athleticism, but now he's just a 29 year old, past-his-prime, injury proned player who's loving the life as an NBA player.

He says he only works on his game during games because of injuries? Maybe he shouldn't have gone to Mexico to party during the All-star weekend (a full week). Anyone who follows him on social media knows what he's about.

I was going to comment on this as well. This guy doesn't know what weight room is for. If you look at pictures of him from when he was drafted until now, I don't see much if any difference in muscle tone or any added size. A proactive approach with some preventative training would go a long way. An athlete's body is their moneymaker and he has done absolutely nothing to make sure he is useful in any way. Look at Anthony Davis and Demar DeRozan for example. Anthony Davis has had injury issues, but you can see the effort is there and improvements are evident. Demar has turned himself into a durable player as well having entered the league as a skinny high flyer. It is obvious when you do and in Parsons case, it is obvious when you don't.

[fuller4379]

When is Real GM going to change his picture? He hasn't played for the Mavs in almost a year.

[luss54321]

Brutal question...

On numbers alone, Chandler Parsons is probably the worst player in the NBA right now (20 MPG, 6 PPG, 2 REB, 1 APG, 34% FG and 26% 3PT). Obviously Memphis will never get their money's worth, or anything close to it.

Signing Parsons to that contract was the worst decision Memphis has made since passing on Steph Curry, James Harden, and DeMar DeRozan to draft Hasheem Thabeet #2 overall. A few bad decisions can totally derail a franchise.

[Milo1661]

When is Real GM going to change his picture? He hasn't played for the Mavs in almost a year.

The problem is that he was last seen alive in a Dallas uniform. No proof that Parsons actually plays for Memphis.

[Stanimal]

Signing Parsons to that contract was the worst decision Memphis has made since passing on Steph Curry, James Harden, and DeMar DeRozan to draft Hasheem Thabeet #2 overall. A few bad decisions can totally derail a franchise.

And let's not forget they passed Russell Westbrook in 2008 and took O.J. Mayo instead. They have a long history of wrong decisions.

[kenwood3333]

How much value did Dallas from his last contract?

[Milo1661]

Signing Parsons to that contract was the worst decision Memphis has made since passing on Steph Curry, James Harden, and DeMar DeRozan to draft Hasheem Thabeet #2 overall. A few bad decisions can totally derail a franchise.

And let's not forget they passed Russell Westbrook in 2008 and took O.J. Mayo instead. They have a long history of wrong decisions.

Draft and FA mistakes are poor comparisons. The amount of information/data for prospects pales in comparison to FA decisions. Many teams passed on Curry, and it was seen as idiotic to say Russ was better than Rose for a long while. All in all, I'm saying signing Parsons was much dumber than the dumb draft decisions.

[Sam195]

You know this contract is going to be an albatross when said player who owns that contract starts sentences with I think when answering questions related to if the team is going to get fair or more value out of his services. Mark Cuban who had Parsons prior medical history as well as team doctor reports and exam results the past two seasons in Dallas clearly knew his body was going to break down sooner or faster so he let him walk and signed a younger Barnes who's having a career year with an expanded role. Some mavs fans though this could be another Steve Nash debacle but Cuban said he let Nash go more for his age (30+ at the time) than his health especially in relation to the trend of much younger more athletics guards at the time which was emerging back than and now has fully dominated. Knicks signed Amare Stoudemire under same circumstances as Parsons - Phoenix had reservations about Amare's knees let him walk and sign with the Knicks where he had 1 good season and 4 awful ones before leaving the league.

[Daddy 801]

I follow this guy on Instagram and anyone can clearly see he's not about working on his game and becoming a better player. His best days are behind him and that's a fact. He always had sneaky athleticism, but now he's just a 29 year old, past-his-prime, injury proned player who's loving the life as an NBA player.

He says he only works on his game during games because of injuries? Maybe he shouldn't have gone to Mexico to party during the All-star weekend (a full week). Anyone who follows him on social media knows what he's about.

I was going to comment on this as well. This guy doesn't know what weight room is for. If you look at pictures of him from when he was drafted until now, I don't see much if any difference in muscle tone or any added size. A proactive approach with some preventative training would go a long way. An athlete's body is their moneymaker and he has done absolutely nothing to make sure he is useful in any way. Look at Anthony Davis and Demar DeRozan for example. Anthony Davis has had injury issues, but you can see the effort is there and improvements are evident. Demar has turned himself into a durable player as well having entered the league as a skinny high flyer. It is obvious when you do and in Parsons case, it is obvious when you don't.

A better comparison would be Hayward. 3-5 years ago many people were saying Chandler was better than Hayward. They came into the NBA with similar size, build, style, etc(not the exact same just similar) and Hayward has been putting in work. Hayward looks like a different person from his rookie year. And it has paid off and he is an All-Star. Chandler....not so much.

[6_Rings]

worst contract ever

[eddie jerel]

The Griz won't admit it,but they REGRET this signing. All the signs were there not to,incl Cuban not even thinking about doing it. When your Best Bud won't take a flyer on you that should tell others not to too.

[Fresh360Waves]

Needs to let go of that ego.