Chandler Parsons Saga Breathes New Life into Rockets-Mavericks Rivalry
The Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets were natural enemies before Chandler Parsons' Texas swap this past July, and as the 2014-15 season unfolds, we should expect to see tensions rise even higher.
"It ended a little ugly media-wise, but I've talked to all those guys and have respect for all those guys," Parsons told reporters when training camp started. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't weird when I go back there and play. I hope there's no hard feelings."
Nothing got out of hand when the Mavs hosted the Rockets in an Oct. 7 preseason tilt, but it's safe to say everyone involved—fans, coaches and players—appreciated the health of the I-45 rivalry.
There were even a few zingers, like the one Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle overheard between Rockets coach Kevin McHale and Parsons: "You didn’t know the plays last year,” McHale said. “You’re not going to know them this year."
Got him.
Though Parsons' jump from Houston to Dallas was the impetus for the recent shots whizzing back and forth between the organizations, it's been Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Rockets general manager Daryl Morey doling out the heaviest fire.
To recap, Dallas signed Parsons to a three-year offer in July that Houston could have matched. Parsons wasn't supposed to go anywhere, as the Rockets had long been adamant they'd retain him regardless of cost. Things changed, as they do, and the Mavericks got their man. Houston, led by Morey's logical approach to free agency (and everything else), determined matching a three-year deal worth $46 million would preclude too much future flexibility.
It's not fair to say Cuban and the Mavs rubbed it in, but you also have to admit most free-agent signings aren't secured in a Florida nightclub or immediately blasted all over social media.
There was a sense of Dallas somehow "beating" Houston in the Parsons saga, a satisfying turnabout for a Mavs club that lost out on Dwight Howard to the Rockets the summer before. When Morey made a call about acquiring Dirk Nowitzki after signing Howard in 2013, Cuban wasn't happy about it, per ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon. "That's fine. But payback is a bitch," Cuban said at the time.
Now, every move either team makes will be viewed through the prism of their rivalry.
Per ESPN.com's Marc Stein, Parsons is only the most recent reason for that:
"Just as the Mavericks were accused in some corners of pursuing Parsons as retribution for the Dirk trade inquiry, Houston heard the same last month when it traded for longtime Mavs backcourt fixture Jason Terry. Further tension between the franchises stems from the Gersson Rosas saga, with Dallas hiring the Houston executive away from the Rockets shortly after losing out on Howard in the name of beefing up its analytics wing and adding a new voice, only for Rosas to clash with some of his new colleagues in the Mavericks front office and return to the Rockets within a few months.
"
When you think about it, none of this should be surprising. And none of it is going to dissipate any time soon.
Cuban is famously outspoken. He's confident and highly competitive and knows the value of a sound bite. Morey is self-assured in his own right, and he's always defended his team's process and decisions with vigor. These guys are both professionals and adults, but neither has shown a willingness to back down when challenged by the other.
Plus, both Dallas and Houston are going to consistently be in the market for the same players, which will naturally pit the two against one another.
Per Stein, Cuban believed the Mavericks to have just a 10 percent chance to land Carmelo Anthony last summer, but they went after him full bore anyway because "you never win any games you don't play."
And Morey's Rockets have forever wanted to create a Big Three.
With the same targets constantly in their sights, Cuban and Morey figure to find themselves competing directly against one another for a very long time.
With that said, we should expect the harsh words and raw nerves to diminish during the first few months of the regular season.
In fact, the latest tones from Cuban have been passive, per Stein: "Whether we won or lost the deal for Dwight Howard, it was a logical thing for him to call about Dirk. I took it as taunting initially, but the more I thought about it, it was the logical move to make. And when you're logical, it's hard to have animosity."
There are no free agents to chase during the year, no playoff spots to pursue in October and November.
But as the season wears on and these two teams find themselves battling for playoff position, look for the rivalry to heat up. Remember, Dallas got better this summer through the acquisitions of Parsons and Tyson Chandler, while the Rockets lost Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin and, of course, Parsons.
With Dallas rising and Houston slipping, there's great potential for the two teams to meet in the middle. In other words, the fight for the fourth or fifth seed is going to be uniquely hostile this season.
And when the summer of 2015 rolls around, get ready for even more clashes between these Texas teams. The new TV deal and rising salary cap mean both clubs will have more financial flexibility than previously expected, and with free agents likely looking for short-term contracts before the cap rises even more in 2016, competition for free agents will be fierce.
Two years from now, Kevin Durant hits the market, and if you think for a second the Mavs and Rockets won't be at the center of that league-altering free-agency sweepstakes, you're ignoring years of history. Cuban's club will always be in the hunt for the biggest names, and the Rockets have ambition, cap space and James Harden to use in their pitch for KD.
The truth is, the Western Conference is so good, teams don't have the luxury of focusing on just one rival.
Everybody's dangerous. This is head-on-a-swivel stuff, and worrying too much about any one foe leaves openings for the rest of the brutal conference to capitalize.
But the Rockets and Mavs have similarly lofty goals and similarly intelligent and driven figureheads, and they just happen to occupy space in the same state. They can't avoid each other.
This is far from over.
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