The Memphis Grizzlies have cleared Chandler Parsons but they have opted to keep him inactive. We’ll have to wait and see if he plays another game this season.
The Memphis Grizzlies need more scoring on the wing but they don’t feel Chandler Parsons is their best option for that. They prefer the other players so much that they won’t even have him suit up for the time being.
He has played in just three games so far this season. That brings his total games played with the Grizzlies to 73 in the three seasons he has been on the team.
He was the starting small forward to start the season over Kyle Anderson. Anderson has started all but one game since and he seems to have that starting job locked up going forward.
With Dillon Brooks back playing they will want to get him up to speed him and give him a larger role than he had before his injury.
They showed how much they value him when they chose to keep him instead of making the trade to get Kelly Oubre from Washington.
Parsons has such a large contract it’ll be hard for him to get moved in any way so he will likely be in Memphis until the summer of 2020.
This is year three of his contract so it’s way past time to have moved on from him being a key player on this team.
He can never stay healthy and even when he was healthy he didn’t look like a max player. The best case scenario for him is to become a consistent role player off of the bench.
Before coming to Memphis he did average over 14 points per game in his stints with both Houston and Dallas.
He had shown the ability to be a good two-way player which looked like the perfect compliment to Mike Conley and Marc Gasol on the wing.
They have been missing a wing scorer since they traded away Rudy Gay in what was a very odd trade at the time and it really hurt the Grizzlies roster.
Despite it feeling like Parsons time with Memphis could be coming to an end it is possible he gets back on the floor in the next couple of weeks.
Bickerstaff said there's a chance Chandler Parsons will play before the end of December, but isn't certain that'll happen.
— Offseason O (@omarisankofa) December 24, 2018
Coaching staff is being cautious with his return, but he's medically cleared.
With the way they already tried to move on from MarShon Brooks and Wayne Selden it is possible they could rely on Parsons to play that role if they decide to trade one or both of those two.
Grizzlies fans would be more than okay with giving Jevon Carter some extra minutes if Parsons were to get hurt again which seems inevitable.
The offense has not been good this season but in the month of December, it has been even worse than their below average offense to start the season.
They were making up for it on the defensive end early on in the season but with some older players on the team, it’s hard to sustain that for 82 games.
They are currently 4-8 in December and are averaging just 96.8 points per game. That is the third-lowest mark in the league ahead of just the Orlando Magic and the Chicago Bulls.
Some of those struggles are due to some inconsistent shooting from three-point range. Guys like Shelvin Mack and Garrett Temple have cooled off from their hot starts and the team has struggled to find guys who can replace that production.
Parsons isn’t going to be healthy the rest of the season, we just have to accept that. If he can come in, hit shots, and make an impact for even close to 2/3rd of the remaining games on the schedule, then that would be considered a success for Memphis.