The Houston Rockets opened free agency with a plan to re-sign Chandler Parsons while also adding Chris Bosh on a near max contract. In the end, they will come away with neither. Bosh decided to return to Miami, and Houston opted against matching the three-year $46 million offer sheet Parsons signed with Dallas, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Chandler Parsons headed to Dallas as Rockets decline to match
The Rockets had until Sunday to match the offer sheet for Chandler Parsons and opted against doing so, making him a Dallas Maverick.
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Houston could have retained Parsons for next season, but opted to decline his contract option, making him a restricted free agent. That was done to free up enough cap space to add a star in free agency while also giving Houston the right to match any offer Parsons received to keep him on a long-term deal. Early in the process, it appeared Houston would match any offer. After drawing interest from a couple of teams, Parsons agreed to an offer sheet with the Mavericks. The deal, which was worth more than $15 million per season, put Houston in a bind as the Rockets were still attempting to lure Bosh.
Once Bosh signed with Miami, it appeared to clear the way for the Rockets to match Parson’s offer sheet. Houston, however, went in a different direction and agreed to a deal with Trevor Ariza. The Rockets and Wizards agreed to a sign-and-trade for Ariza, according to Wojnarowski. Even after agreeing to a four-year deal worth $32 million with Ariza, Wojnarowski reported the Rockets were still considering matching the offer sheet for Parsons. Their plan apparently changed, and now Parsons will head to Dallas without any compensation heading back to Houston. According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the structure of the offer sheet was a deciding factor in Houston not matching. Stein reported the Rockets decided they would only match if they also landed Bosh. With Bosh in Miami, it paved the way for Parsons to head to Dallas.
The 25-year-old will become the highest-paid player on the Mavericks and slot into the starting lineup at small forward. He averaged 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game last season.
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