The Dallas Mavericks have been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this season as they are sixth in the Western Conference and in good shape to make the playoffs. Dallas came in with very low expectations yet have still been a consistently solid team all year. The Mavericks success this season has been even more impressive when you consider that they dealt with injuries to key players early in the season.
Wesley Matthews was coming off a torn Achilles and took some time to round into form. Chandler Parsons had microfracture surgery that kept him out at the beginning of the year. Even when Parsons came back, he was on a strict minutes limit and had a hard time finding his rhythm. Recently though, Parsons has rounded into form and shown how good he can be when he is healthy.
Parsons' recent stellar play has brought up the idea of his future in Dallas because he has a player option for next season worth a little more than $16 million. With the cap expected to raise significantly, Parsons is fully expected to opt out of that final year and, when he does, the Orlando Magic are considered the biggest threats to sign him.
The Magic certainly have a lot going for them this summer when Parsons is expected to hit free agency, not the least of which is the fact that they cleared cap space at the trade deadline. Trading Tobias Harris and Channing Frye enabled the Magic to free up room so they can pursue a guy like Parsons who should get something close to a max contract.
Another thing working in Orlando's favor regarding Parsons is the fact that he is from Florida and grew up a fan of the Magic. Parsons always dreamed of playing for his hometown team and that has now become a very realistic possibility for next year and beyond. The 27-year-old forward is in his second season with the Mavericks and has a close relationship with owner Mark Cuban, but they will have to convince him to stay. Dallas will be able to pay Parsons more money than anyone else, but the Mavericks are fully aware that they are in serious danger of losing their starting small forward.
For his part, Parsons has not said anything in the media about his impending free agency and, instead, is focusing on finishing this season strong. This upcoming free agent class is top heavy with a lot of stars, but not all that deep. Because of that, Parsons will likely garner interest from many teams with Orlando standing out as the team with the best chance to lure him away from Dallas.
