Chandler Parsons has seen himself pop up in more trade rumors than he would like. The Houston Rockets small forward has enjoyed a solid run working off of James Harden and Dwight Howard, but an expiring contract means he is trade bait. As the Rockets chase players like Kevin Love and Rajon Rondo, Parsons could be tossed in as part of the package.
While engaging with fans over Twitter, the forward noted that he was hopeful to remain with the Houston Rockets despite all of the rumors swirling regarding his future. This is not the first time that he has stated his desire to stay with the team. Recently speaking with the Houston Chronicle, Parsons said he would ideally like to just sign a contract extension instead of getting traded.
"It doesn't matter to me," Parsons said. "The biggest thing for me is to win. When you win, you get whatever you want. We had a chance to do that this year and didn't do it. Restricted, unrestricted, it doesn't really matter to me. I just want to be in a good situation. I want to be on a winning team. And I think that can happen here. I'm not trying to go anywhere else. Obviously, I have to do what's best for my career, but I love it here."
Parsons is an easy trade piece. He is set to earn $964,000 in the upcoming season with a team option. That gives the Houston Rockets an easy contract to move if need be. Parsons has a lot of value in the league already and adding his contract which is easy on the salary caps only adds to his stock. He averaged 16.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 47 percent from the field.
The Rockets have placed Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo and Carmelo Anthony on their wishlist for the offseason. Two of those players will require trades. The Rockets will already attempt to give up Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, but Parsons is the more favorable option than two players with inflated deals. They could trade one of those players and add in the forward for a better package.
There is always the option of paying Parsons. The forward has earned the right to a much larger contract with a few years tacked on. If Houston does that, they can say goodbye to any trades for the next few seasons with Parsons.
