Injury updates come at you fast, yo.
Since Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com and The Hoop Doctors both reported that the Dallas Mavericks expect Chandler Parsons to miss the rest of the season with a torn meniscus in his right knee, the narrative has shifted ever so slightly. There is apparently a chance, according to Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press, that the forward could return to action this season:
Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons is having surgery on his right knee again but might not be finished for the season.
A person with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday that Parsons was having arthroscopic surgery for a meniscus tear in his right knee but could return.
The team said Parsons will not make the upcoming four-game road trip because of the right knee injury, and coach Rick Carlisle declined to discuss the specifics. The person spoke of Parsons’ injury on the condition of anonymity because details weren’t released.
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The injury isn’t considered as serious as the one that knocked Parsons out of the first round of the playoffs last season and required surgery and a long rehabilitation that carried over into training camp and limited his playing time early this season.
Parsons could resume basketball activities within six weeks, which means he could be available when the playoffs start in mid-April. There are roughly three weeks left in the regular season.
This is both good news and potentially dangerous news. Parsons shouldn’t feel an urgency to return, nor should the Mavs be hoping he hurries back. Dallas is contending for one of the West’s final three playoff spots, and two of those three slots, the seventh and eighth seeds, would thrust Rick Carlisle’s crew into impossible matchups against the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs.
There’s no sense pushing Parsons toward a return just so he can help secure a first-round exit. He is still only 27 years old, and the Mavericks supposedly view him as a cornerstone. Now, he might want to return, since he owns a player option for next season and his free-agency stock may have taken a hit with the latest injury. But that player option is security, assuring him of a $16 million salary next season, in the event he decides to rebuild his market value ahead of 2017 free agency.
