Well, if we want the athletes that we watch to be open and honest with the media and not dodge questions, we got what we asked for.
The city of Houston might not be happy with what it received, though.
Kirk Henderson at Mavs Moneyball recently relayed a media day interview with new Dallas Mavericks swingman Chandler Parsons, who was the subject of a frenzied bidding war between the Mavs and his former Houston Rocket team – even though the Rockets didn’t technically “bid” in the end. In it, Parsons reveals the differences between Houston and his newest adopted hometown:
I mean … you can’t chide the guy for ducking a question or refusing to share his opinion. He was already going to be roundly booed during the two Mavericks games played in Houston (not counting the playoffs, which we really hope ends up happening) this season, so why not go all in and tell all of YouTube that you think Dallas is cleaner than Houston?
For four offseasons since the mini-breakup of his championship Mavericks team, Cuban has been attempting to surround Dirk Nowitzki with another full-blown superstar. Through bad luck and unfortunate timing, his front office failed in that regard in ways that weren’t the front office’s fault, but the Mavericks have put together a solid roster behind sub-All-Star types like Parsons, Monta Ellis, and the re-acquired Tyson Chandler.
For even longer, Morey has been attempting to strike rich in the superstar market, and because of good luck and timing (to say nothing of sound research and smart moves), he was able to acquire James Harden in 2012 and Dwight Howard the summer after. With flexibility and a playoff team already in place, Morey once again seemed the favorite to land Chris Bosh after LeBron James left Miami as a free agent, and a long shot to potentially sign Carmelo Anthony or even James.
That plan fell through, and in an understandable but unfortunate misstep from Houston, the team declined to pick up the final unguaranteed year of Parsons’ former ridiculously tiny contract – he was set to make under $1 million this season, with a just-as-tiny cap hold barely getting in the way of Houston adding yet another superstar.
Enter Cuban, who tossed three years and over $46 million at Parsons, numbers that seem ridiculous to even those of us that admire Chandler’s game, understand his age and potential, and are aware that the third year of this deal (which is a player option) could take place in an NBA with a salary cap that vaults over $90 million.
In yet another media-driven back and forth between Houston and Dallas, Parsons, Cuban and Morey recently spoke with ESPN’s Marc Stein, to more or less sign off on what we guessed went down last July:
Sources say Parsons’ camp tried to convince the Rockets to agree to a four-year, $48 million deal before it even got that far. But Houston, hoping to give itself every chance of making a splashy July signing and then matching on Parsons to form its very own Fab Four of sorts, stunned many league observers by consenting in June to decline Parsons’ $964,750 option for the 2014-15 season and make him a restricted free agent.
“Daryl told me this process is going to be frustrating and you’re going to read a lot of stuff you’re not going to like, but at the end of the day, you’ve worked hard for this and you’ve earned this,” Parsons said. “He warned me it could get ugly at times once the media gets involved and that you’re gonna see people say you’re not worth this or you’re not worth that. [Morey] just sat me down and said, ‘Go out and sign the best contract you can. Just know in the back of your head that we’re gonna match the contract.’
“Dan [Fegan, Parsons’ agent] was trying to negotiate something with them early, and, to be perfectly honest, I would have accepted a lot less money early in the process to stay in Houston. But they told me they wanted to wait for the whole LeBron and Melo situation [to play out], which I understood. I just listened to them. I signed the best deal I could for my own career.”
Cuban signed Parsons to an offer sheet two days before James announced he would moving back to Ohio, and the Mavs owner credits Morey’s courteous quick acknowledgement that his Rockets wouldn’t be matching the terms to Daryl insistence on not being “a jerk.” Houston could have let it drag on before matching, allowing for the Mavs to lose out on other free agents during the NBA’s busy season, but they decided to let go. The dream of adding Bosh and matching any offer for Parsons was scuttled, and Morey is quick to rightfully defend his attempted moonshot:
"For me, going after Bosh -- even though it didn't work -- was absolutely the right scenario. A good analogy is if you have 11 in blackjack and the right play is to double down. If you happen to get a two and lose, it doesn't make doubling down the wrong decision. It just means it didn't work out that time."
He’s completely right, just as Cuban was right to work along those same lines over the last few years in his attempts to build one last championship contender around one of the greatest players this league will ever know. Parsons’ deal also includes various trade kickers and opt-out options that made matching the contract tough for Houston, and even if you think Dallas overpaid, that doesn’t mean Cuban didn’t do the absolute best he could for the best that was available for his team at the time.
Same for Morey, even before he nearly made up for Parsons’ departure by signing the solid Trevor Ariza to a yearly rate around half of what Chandler Parsons will make during his average contract terms. This still leaves the Rockets very much in the hunt for 2016 superstar free agents (though those ranks have increased), as Daryl Morey continues to search for that one last star. Both teams did just fine, in this instance.
That doesn’t mean Houston fans aren’t pissed, though …
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