Chandler Parsons and Mark Cuban learned that business always comes 1st

On Friday night, the Dallas Mavericks play host to the Memphis Grizzlies in what promises to challenge for the slowest-moving game of the season. But an interesting fold in the story is Chandler Parsons’ return to The Big D after a “shocking” divorce from a Mavericks franchise for which he envisioned himself retiring and a boss with whom he developed a relationship unlike any owner-player tandem in the NBA.

“We’re boys. We’re friends,” Parsons told ESPN about Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. “Yeah, he was the owner of the team, but I didn’t look at him any differently [than other friends]. We did stuff. We enjoyed similar activities off the court. We were friends hanging out.”

But that friendship wasn’t enough to keep Parsons in Dallas once a series of knee injuries scared the Mavericks away. And after a two-sided heartbreak opened the door for Parsons to catch a flight to Memphis, both sides learned that business always comes before pleasure.

Legend has it Parsons signed his lucrative deal in an Orlando club called Attic in front of hundreds of party-goers. It was a taste of what was to come. He and Cuban spent nights out together, as their relationship developed from business to pleasure, then mixing the two.

As ESPN.com’s Tim MacMahon points out, the setting of the Parsons deal set the tone for the future:

That set the tone for the relationship to come: business and pleasure, with too many late nights to count. Cuban and Parsons would go out together occasionally during the NBA season, when it didn’t conflict with the job that Cuban was paying Parsons a lot of money to do, and often during the offseason, when they hit clubs in Dallas, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

All the while, they talked shop: The business of running the Mavericks. It wasn’t long before Parsons grew to enjoy the rarest of indulgences, normally reserved for long-term superstars: Parsons became a go-to resource on personnel matters, proposing one move after another, some of which became reality.

Parsons said in retrospect, he saw how his relationship with Cuban rubbed people the wrong way.

“I think that ended up biting me in the ass at the end,” he said.

As his friendship grew stronger with Mark Cuban, Parsons’ influence in player-personnel decisions became apparent.

Writes MacMahon:

At one point, Parsons pitched his boss on something bold: Say farewell to high-scoring free agent Monta Ellis, who clashed with Parsons and wore out his welcome with many in the Mavs organization; go all in on recruiting Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, whom Parsons believed could blossom to become the NBA’s best big man and would be a perfect fit to play with him.

Had it not been for a last-second change of heart, Parsons could still be part of a Mavericks frontcourt likely getting annihilated by the Warriors or Spurs in the Western Conference playoffs.

But Jordan’s renege on his verbal agreement to come to Dallas set the Mavericks back and hampered Parsons’ place as the Mavericks’ lead recruiter. Wesley Matthews kept his word and signed with his home state team, but the team was operating on the idea of having a dominant defensive presence in the paint.

Instead, they traded for Zaza Pachulia and signed JaVale McGee.

Parsons’ friendship with Jordan dates back to well before their NBA careers, when they met as teenagers in summer camp. It’s why he fell just a hair short of selling the disgruntled big man on a career close to his hometown of Houston.

So to Parsons, it wasn’t a big deal posting a photo with Public Enemy No. 1 after they made up. Water under the bridge.

Cuban saw things differently.

“Yeah, it definitely pissed Cuban off,” Parsons told MacMahon. “It’s his money and his team. Obviously, he didn’t find it too funny, but I wasn’t trying to get a laugh out of him or throwing shade at Dallas. It was such a story and such an ordeal with us that I was just kind of publicly burying the hatchet.”

Parsons also had a friend, Pausha Haghighi, who worked with Cuban on construction of the team’s practice facility. Soon after the Instagram post, Haghighi and the Mavericks parted ways.

Communication broke down from that point. The Cuban-Parsons friendship was reduced to a game of telephone between the player and his agent, Dan Fegan. It was the impending breakup neither side wanted to discuss.

In truth, some of the blame falls on Cuban. Owners have varied relationships with their players, but rarely do any cross the invisible line. If Cuban didn’t breach the unsaid rule, he certainly walked the line with his off-night escapades.

The injury bug is an unforgiving, indiscriminate pest, and Parsons was in its nest. Just a season after he underwent a minor microfracture surgery, Parsons tore his meniscus in the same knee.

The injury put Cuban in an awkward position, with his friend and team’s playmaker eligible to opt out and enter free agency over the summer.

“As much as it hurt to see my season cut short,” Parsons said. “I knew it wasn’t career-ending and I knew financially I was going to be taken care of by Mark.”

But the Mavs, scared by Parsons’ knee trouble, had other plans. For Dallas, it made sense to push for a Parsons opt-in. They wanted him to prove he could stay healthy before committing to more years and bigger bucks.

“Once we knew about the knee injury, our goal was to get him to opt in (to his $16 million player option for this season),” Cuban told ESPN.

But Parsons told ESPN he never thought about considering the deal. After the TV revenue deals were renegotiated, cap space poured into the free agent market.

It’s why Golden State was able to sign Kevin Durant at ease. It’s why Mike Conley got an NBA-record $153 million contract with zero All-Star appearances. And it’s why guys Brooklyn could force Portland to match Allen Crabbe’s $70 million offer sheet.

Everyone was getting paid. Why should Parsons have to take a pay cut?

Parsons went on to ink an incredibly lucrative, maximum deal with the Memphis Grizzlies: four years, $98 million. Through five games, he’s averaged less than seven points in 21 minutes on the floor. Recovering from his meniscus injury, Parsons is shooting just 12.5 percent on threes this season.

But at least the Grizzlies are in the playoff hunt. Parsons now takes on a floundering Mavericks team (2-8) that has won only once at home. It’s an opportunity for both parties to turn their respective seasons around.

Cuban will certainly be in attendance, watching his former player try to get his knee back under him. Just don’t hold your breath that the two will rekindle their once-tight relationship. Business got in the way.