For many fans, the fear of the post-signature slacker is a real one. Professional athletes make it a living to play sports and get paid for it and, for some of them, that’s the ultimate goal. After earning their first major contract, some guys never live up to the dollar amount on the checks.
After signing Chandler Parsons to a three-year, $46 million contract, Mark Cuban is confident that small forward won’t slack off after getting a significant pay raise, per the Dallas Morning News.
"“I don’t see [the money] making a huge change, that’s just not his personality. Every guy who is good goes through that though because you go off your rookie contract and if you’re good, you’re getting paid. I think it’s rare to find a guy who takes the money and is out. I think in Chandler’s case in talking to him, he wants to prove that he’s worth it. He’s working his butt off to do it. You never know until you know. It’s not like he was only good for one or two years, he was good for three years.”"
Parsons was a second-round pick out of the University of Florida and made second-round money for the first three years of his career with the Houston Rockets.
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After improving his stats each season across the board, Parsons became a restricted free agent this summer. However, Houston was trying to find a way to land a third all-star this offseason and ended up not making re-signing Parsons a priority. That gave the in-state rival Mavericks a chance to fill a need on the wing with a young, athletic forward who can complement Dirk Nowitzki with his hustle and versatile scoring abilities.
Cuban’s claim about Parsons having a chip on his shoulder is easy to believe. Parsons was highly touted coming out of high school in Central Florida, and had a solid career with the Gators. But NBA teams weren’t sure how he would transition to the Association because he wasn’t necessarily very big, fast or a top athlete.
Parsons worked hard to prove himself in Houston, averaging nearly 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game in three seasons.
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