Chandler Parsons to rejoin Grizzlies
A Memphis Grizzlies season rife with drama, distractions and disappointment is getting a player back soon who has contributed to all three.
Exiled forward Chandler Parsons is expected to rejoin the team after the Allstar break this month after being away since early January.
"When he does come back, he's a part of the team like anybody else," Grizzlies coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Saturday. "We are intending to compete and play well down the stretch and see what happens. Anybody that can help us do that is going to play and be a part of what we're doing."
A reconciliation between the Grizzlies and Parsons shows how much both sides need each other.
The Grizzlies need what a healthy Parsons can provide: outside shooting. And Parsons needs the opportunity to prove he can still contribute in the NBA.
Parsons and his representation clung to hope that the oft-injured 30-year-old forward might get traded before Thursday's deadline as he is eager to prove that he is healthy enough to resume a oncepromising NBA career.
But with Parsons owed $24.1 million this season and $25.1 million next year, trading him would have likely required the Grizzlies to take unfavorable contracts in return.
However, if the Grizzlies want to trade Parsons this summer or before next year's trade deadline, they could improve the value of their return by allowing Parsons to demonstrate that he is still capable of contributing on the court.
If Parsons can prove himself healthy enough to contribute at the NBA level, he could also position himself for a contract buyout that would mitigate some of the Grizzlies' financial obligation while allowing Parsons to continue his career elsewhere on a new deal.
In the meantime, the Grizzlies will hope Parsons can help the team with its goal of remaining competitive after a trade deadline that shifted the makeup of the roster and the franchise's direction.
The prospect of Parsons rejoining the Grizzlies appeared bleak just a month ago. While Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said the franchise would monitor Parsons' rehabilitation efforts in Los Angeles, there was little optimism on either side that Parsons would return.
After all, ESPN reported that Parsons shouted “Give me a (expletive) jersey!” toward Wallace after hitting 3-pointers in a practice.
The feud between Parsons and the Grizzlies stemmed from the team's refusal to activate and return him to the lineup after he spent two months recovering from knee soreness after playing in only three games at the start of the season.
The Grizzlies preferred to see Parsons play in the G-league before returning to the NBA. But absent a defined plan for returning Parsons to the NBA lineup, Parsons and his representation balked at the idea of the veteran taking a G-league assignment.
"Ridiculous request for a proven veteran player in this league," his agent, James Dunleavy, told the Commercial Appeal in late December.
Once reports surfaced that Parsons and the Grizzlies would be parting ways, Parsons released a statement.
"I am extremely disappointed that I didn’t get to finish this season alongside my teammates and the Memphis coaching staff. Unfortunately that option wasn’t presented to me," Parsons said in the statement. "The Grizzlies training staff medically cleared me to play 5-on-5 in mid-december and I have been practicing with the team ever since. I will continue to workout and train until my agent and the team reach a resolution. I am ready to play and committed to getting back on the court."
The Grizzlies' first game after the Allstar break is a Feb. 22 home game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The falling out between the Grizzlies and Parsons came before a wave of injuries decimated the roster's depth. In early January, all 15 players on the team's NBA roster were considered healthy.
But in recent weeks, the team has been forced to utilize two-way players and a player on a 10-day contract just to compete.
Injuries to Dillon Brooks, Kyle Anderson, Garrett Temple, Jamychal Green, Joakim Noah and others depleted the team's depth as the trade deadline approached. With the Grizzlies bringing five new players in after the trade deadline and bringing Parsons back, Bickerstaff will have to sort through myriad of options as the team strives to remain competitive.
Wallace said Friday the team's goal is to convey the pick it owes to the Boston Celtics this season, which will require the team to play well enough to avoid having a top-eight draft pick.
Otherwise, the Grizzlies face the prospect of delaying the fulfillment of that obligation until 2020 or 2021.
It seems they believe Parsons can help in that mission.
"We're trying to create an environment where players want to come and players want to stay," Bickerstaff said. "So in that, it doesn't change because he's been absent. He's still a part of the team and we'll treat him that way."
Reach Grizzlies beat writer David Cobb at david.cobb@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @Davidwcobb.