Even though Chandler Parsons is unlikely to ever live up to his contract, he still has value to the Grizzlies as a bench player, writes Peter Edmiston of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Parsons still has two seasons and more than $49.2MM left on the hefty deal he signed in 2016. He has collected nearly $46MM already while appearing in just 70 games.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff moved Parsons into a reserve role for much of last season and he responded with better numbers, including hitting 44% of his 3-point attempts off the bench, compared to only 29% as a starter. Edmiston notes that Parsons can be can be a stretch four in that role, and his passing and shooting make him an effective complement to the Grizzlies’ other big men.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Deyonta Davis‘ poor performance in this year’s Summer League convinced the Grizzlies he would never be a productive center for them, according to Michael Wallace of NBA.com. Memphis gave Davis a three-year contract after drafting him in the second round in 2016, but he never lived up to the promise the organization saw in him. Davis played 98 games in two seasons, averaging 4.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per night, before being shipped to the Kings last month. Memphis has transformed its front line since February by parting with Davis, Jarell Martin and Brandan Wright.
- James Harden isn’t concerned that the addition of Carmelo Anthony will disrupt the Rockets‘ chemistry on the court. In an interview tweeted by The Players Tribune, Harden expresses confidence that Anthony will fit in seamlessly. “When you’ve got that many high IQ guys around, who love to communicate and love to figure things out, the job is easy,” he said. “The job gets hard when you don’t communicate and you’re just going off your instincts or what you think is right.”
- The Mavericks have hired Peter Patton as their new shooting coach, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minneapolis. Patton previously held the same role with the Timberwolves, but was among several people dismissed by the organization in May.
Well it doesn’t look too good for Houston, but hey we have to wait & see, if Harden says it will be ok, then I will take his word, until proven otherwise, last year already surprise us with adding CP3 all went very smooth, they thrived with the 2 PG situation.
Holy moly, I can’t believe it, but I’m going to agree with cesc for once.
I didn’t know how Paul was going to work there last year with how ball dominant Harden is, but low and behold, they ended up with the best record in the L and pushed the Warriors to the limit. If Harden says fitting Melo in will be easy, I can’t doubt him.
The issue isn’t going to be finding a role for him offensively, it’s going to be the defense, his combined with the losses of Ariza and Luc that I see as their downfall this year.