Portland Trail Blazers Rumors: Is Chandler Parsons’ Max Contract Offer A Good Idea For Blazers? [Update]

Portland Trail Blazers rumors have the team offering free agent Chandler Parsons a max contract. Will Parsons give the Blazers what the team needs to take that next step competitively? A report from the Oregonian states that the possible deal could be for four years and about $94.7 million. That would be a huge pay raise for Parsons provided that he decides to accept this offer from the Blazers.

Several other teams are interested in signing Parsons during the NBA free agency period, with the Memphis Grizzlies also prepared to offer him a max deal. The 27-year-old small forward opted out of a contract with the Dallas Mavericks in order to sign with a new team during the offseason. He left $16 million on the table and turned down a request by Mavs owner Mark Cuban to stay with the team one more year.

An update from free agency has come in, with the Memphis Grizzlies reportedly agreeing to terms on a four-year contract with Parsons. While he still has to sign the deal and it also needs to receive league approval, it appears that Parsons will now play for the Grizzlies.

#MemphisGrizzlies #GoGrizz #GoGrizz Sources: Chandler Parsons agrees to max deal with Memphis (Yahoo Sports) https://t.co/AT48r3X7jm

— Grizzlies Fans (@GrizzliesViews) July 1, 2016

Chandler Parsons has been in the NBA for five seasons, posting career averages of 14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. Parsons was with the Houston Rockets before going to the Dallas Mavericks for the 2014-15 NBA season. Last season with the Mavs, Parsons averaged 13.7 points and 4.7 rebounds a game while playing 29.5 minutes a night. He shot 49.2 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from three-point range, showing he can be a weapon on offense.

If these Portland Trail Blazers rumors lead to Parsons agreeing to this contract, he would immediately slide into the starting small forward role. The NBA salary cap is projected to be about $94 million for the 2016-17 NBA season, with that number expected to climb even further for the 2017-18 NBA season. This gives many teams additional money to spend in free agency this year, and the Blazers leading the way as one of the teams with the most salary-cap space. In theory, the Blazers could sign Parsons and still have money to pursue other top free agents.

The Blazers’ current payroll is at about $54.4 million, counting qualifying offers that have been extended to Meyers Leonard and Moe Harkless. The number does not take into account what Allen Crabbe could make, but it is expected that he will receive several offers from other teams. As these players are restricted free agents, the Blazers can match any deals they are offered (should they turn down the qualifying offers).

There are a lot of additional Portland Trail Blazers rumors, including that the team wants to sign Evan Turner and Dwight Howard in free agency. While it’s possible that the team could sign Parsons and either Turner or Howard, the team doesn’t have the payroll space to sign all three. If the Blazers decided to make some trades in the next few days, it’s certainly possible that the team could create more salary cap space. It is unlikely that the Blazers could afford max deals to Parsons and Howard and have enough money left over to sign Turner.

Is signing Chandler Parsons a good idea for the Portland Trail Blazers? The team could use a third scorer to team up with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in the starting rotation. If Parsons is healthy and can get back to averaging around 16 to 18 points per game, he could be the perfect addition for the Blazers. While many fans might view his contract as Parsons getting overpaid, the NBA landscape is changing in a massive way. Role players are going to get paid much more than in the past, so even players who don’t have elite-level talent could get max deals.

Parsons certainly doesn’t have the popularity and buzz that would be associated with free agents like Kevin Durant or Dwight Howard, but he could be the perfect role player to improve the Portland Trail Blazers. Should he remain healthy, Parsons would provide inside and outside scoring that would take a lot of pressure off Lillard and McCollum in late-game situations.

[Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images]