For a hot minute at the start of NBA free agency, it looked like Chandler Parsons would sign with the Portland Trail Blazers, who were offering him a max deal. But then the Memphis Grizzlies swooped in with a max offer of their own, and everything changed.
Parsons chose the Grizzles and has no regrets. Why exactly? Because of Memphis’ coach, David Fizdale.
And, of course, because of a gut feeling.
As Parsons told ESPN.com’s Tim MacMahon:
ESPN: You had max offers and meetings with the Trail Blazers and Grizzlies in the first 24 hours of free agency. You committed to Memphis on the spot after that meeting. Why Memphis over Portland?
Parsons: It was a very, very tough decision. I have nothing but respect for Portland and what they’re doing, and I think they have a tremendous future. This really just came down to a gut feeling of mine. I felt extremely comfortable with the management and coach [David] Fizdale. We hit it off right away. We had a past relationship with him being my coach in the Rookie-Sophomore game, and I actually randomly saw him in Orlando with my parents and stopped and talked to him for like 30 minutes when he was still with Miami.
Just looking at his body of work with what he’s done with wings in the league and his vision for me, it just felt right. It basically came down to me being comfortable and trusting the coaching staff. They made unbelievable points about how my usage rate has been down my entire career. The way he’s going to use me in this offense, I think I can really flourish and be the best player I can be.
Solid answer, including the gut-feeling tidbit. And Parsons isn’t wrong about how his play style meshes with Memphis’ approach.
The Grizzlies have never had a stretch forward of his caliber during the Core Four era (Tony Allen, Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph). He instantly changes their offensive dynamic as a guy who can stroke threes and move the ball.
There’s a strong chance he’ll be used as more than just a spot-up shooter, too. Fizdale will get creative with the offense, perhaps handing Parsons extensive minutes at the 4, staggering Gasol’s and Randolph’s minutes at the 5.
In Portland, with the ball-dominant C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard in tow, plus Evan Turner now, Parsons wouldn’t have enjoyed the offensive freedom he has in Memphis. He would have been tethered to a very strict role. So if flexibility is what he’s been after, then his gut feeling steered him toward the right team.
