The NBA is a dynamic league where anything can happen in an instant. A couple of great games, and suddenly you have analysts all over the media talking about you. One strong season and a single contract negotiation can completely alter a player's life both on and off the court. That was the case for Chandler Parsons , whose rapid rise from an overlooked second-round pick to a young and promising forward took the league by storm.
What started as a modest rookie deal with the Houston Rockets eventually turned into a massive payday in Dallas , and for Parsons himself, it was a bittersweet moment, but one that changed the trajectory of his career, and quite honestly, his life forever.
"Yeah. So that was a unique deal where I was a restricted free agent, and I had the team option in my fourth year for the Rockets, which ended up helping me because I remember I was overplaying my contract and I exceeded all expectations… By the time my fourth year came up, I was playing 40 minutes a night and I was a starter," Parsons explained in his recent appearance on the "Out the Mud" podcast.
"That summer I played great. I became a restricted free agent. And that's when, you know, Mark Cuban comes in. He offers me a max deal. The other, I think Orlando offered me a big deal, and it was restricted, and he put in like a no trade like I had like the craziest kickers and player option in my year," the now-retired forward added.
Parsons was the 38th overall pick in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft, but very quickly profiled himself as one of the better young sharpshooters in the league. By his second season, he averaged 15.5 points on solid shooting from beyond the arc. However, his third season remains the point when Chandler truly blossomed.
He upped his averages to 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per outing. Parsons provided steady support to the core of James Harden and Dwight Howard , whom he was interestingly one of the main guys convincing to take his talents to Houston.
The 2013-14 season was also the last of his 3 year, $2,498,896 rookie deal with the Rockets, after which he became a restricted free agent. Parsons' performances quickly drew eyeballs from several teams around the league, including Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks .
When Cuban came with his offer, it was hard to say no. On the other side, the Rockets simply were not comfortable matching that kind of contract and had to accept the reality that Parsons would relocate to Dallas.
For Chandler, it was proof, and in a way, a reward, for all the hard work he put in, even though he had to part ways with the organization that trusted him from the very beginning. But truthfully, he did not mind it one bit. After all, he went from making a little less than $850K per year to north of $15 million annually.
"This was the biggest raise in the history of the NBA too, back in the day " I went from like making 700 grand to 15 million a year," he concluded.
Even though Parsons continued doing what he knew best in Dallas, his career soon took an ugly dip. What once looked like the beginning of a long-term rise slowly turned into a career constantly interrupted by injuries.
After knee issues heavily impacted his stint with the Mavericks, Parsons still managed to secure another massive contract in 2016 when the Memphis Grizzlies signed him to a four-year, $94 million deal. At the time, he was often under criticism for not being available enough on the court to truly justify the max-level contract he secured.
Memphis gambled on Chandler's health, but unfortunately, it never truly materialized, and his story remains one of the many "what ifs" in NBA history. Because at one point, Parsons genuinely looked like a modern wing every contender wanted on its roster.
Still, if there is one thing nobody can take away from him, it is the fact that he made generational wealth even though he was "just a second-rounder."
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
