Chandler Parsons is injured again. Will this hurt his stock in free agency?
The Dallas Mavericks pried away Parsons from their in-state rival Houston Rockets but now the tables could be turned.
Parsons will become a free agent at the end of the season and the Rockets will be one of the teams on the prowl, but will they still be interested if Parsons is injured again?
The Dallas' Mavericks playoff hunt got derailed when Parsons season ended prematurely with a torn meniscus in his right knee. He requires arthroscopic surgery but ESPN described it more as a "clean up than a full repair."
This development will definitely affect the Mavericks playoff hopes as the Nowitzki-Parsons tandem was slowly becoming a respectable threat. The Mavericks have won games without Parsons (and they did against Portland) but the competition is stiff with the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets tugging at their coattails.
Will it also affect Parsons free agency? Will he even opt out of his contract now that he's injured?
Parsons will still opt out, as ESPN suggested. There are still too many teams with max contract money and Parsons remains the top small forward option not named Kevin Durant (DeMar DeRozan and Nic Batum are considered shooting guards).
There might be teams which would take some caution before pursuing Parsons this summer but the Durant hopefuls who get rejected would probably brush that off.
However, Fansided mentioned that there is at least one executive who called Parsons recurring knee injury as a red flag.
"There's no denying that Parson's injury history, especially the recurring problems with his right knee, will be considered by teams around the league when free agency rolls around this summer. If one executive is against signing him because of it already as Watkins reported, it could be a problem for some teams more than others."
So which teams are still likely to pursue Parsons? The Orlando Magic remains the top suitor for his services as they even traded off Tobias Harris just to make a splash. The Lakers also have too much cap space and they would not want to go empty-handed again.
However, the team that will still pursue him the most is the Dallas Mavericks. The injury might actually turn in their favor as it is usually bad faith to leave a team that stuck with a player during their tough times. But that does not mean it has not happened, though.