Last week, Rockets owner Leslie Alexander made it clear that Chandler Parsons is very much in the club’s plans for years to come. “He’ll be here. We’ll sign Chandler. We always do. Nobody’s ever left. He’s an integral part of the team. We don’t want to let a terrific player go,” the owner said. Here’s a look at tonight’s news on the Lone Star State’s other teams..
- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was without Jose Calderon, Devin Harris, and Shane Larkin for tonight’s preseason game and had to turn to Israeli import Gal Mekel at point guard. Carlisle says that he’ll be looking to see if Mekel will sink or swim, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
- Mekel also got some good-natured ribbing from owner Mark Cuban, tweets Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. “Is (Gal Mekel) starting tonight? Oh good. Good for him. I guess we don’t have anybody else left,’’ said the owner.
- It’s not quite a make-or-break season for Spurs reserve guard Cory Joseph, but it is a critical one for his future in San Antonio, writes Dan McCarney of the Express News. There’s a strong possibility that the Spurs will exercise his fourth season option in the coming weeks, but the club would like to see him take a serious step forward this year.
- New Mavericks guard Monta Ellis can score, pass, and rebound, but the real question is whether he can win, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.