Will Chandler Parsons’ injury impact his free agency value?

Now that it’s likely Chandler Parsons will undergo season-ending knee surgery, could his value in NBA free agency be impacted by his recent injury history?

Dallas Mavericks wing Chandler Parsons has only played more than 66 games in two seasons through his five-year NBA career thanks to multiple injuries. He had a slow start again this season after coming back from surgery on his right knee, and now his 2015-16 campaign will be cut short. Yet again, it’s due to surgery on his right knee.

Tim MacMahon of ESPN has reported that he’ll likely undergo surgery to end his season, although the good news is that it’s far less serious than what he had to deal with last year.

Before even looking forward to free agency, this is obviously another tough blow for Parsons to overcome. His playoff push last season was cut short by injury, and now he won’t even be able to help the Mavericks’ push in 2016 as they’re left barely hanging onto the eighth seed in the Western Conference at 35-35.

Now that it seems likely Parsons will be out of action, though, what are the repercussions for free agency? Or does he not need to worry about anything?

As a talented shooter and scorer at 6-foot-9, Parsons should still hold a lot of value in the summer as one of the better available perimeter threats. After a slow start to the season, he’s averaged 18.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists over the last 30 games while shooting an exceptional 52 percent from the floor and 47.5 percent from three (with 2.5 makes per game). He has a reliable shot from mid-range too, and he’s averaged a 38 percent stroke from beyond the arc for his career.

In today’s three-point happy NBA, another injury setback with a shorter recovery time shouldn’t hurt him too much.

And as MacMahon added to his report, it’s still expected that Parsons will opt out the final year of his contract and receive hefty offers, even if the Mavs are favorites to sign him again:

"Sources said Parsons is still likely to exercise his right this summer to opt out of the final season of his three-year, $46 million deal. He is expected to receive maximum-contract offers in free agency, with sources considering the Mavs the front-runners to keep him."

Alternatively, ESPN’s Calvin Watkins has reported that one NBA executive was clearly not too keen on the state of Parson’s knee:

There’s no denying that Parson’s injury history, especially the recurring problems with his right knee, will be considered by teams around the league when free agency rolls around this summer. If one executive is against signing him because of it already as Watkins reported, it could be a problem for some teams more than others.

That being said, this year he won’t have to deal with as much recovery as he has in the past which only lightens the blow of his latest surgery.

The other factor to consider is the competition he’ll be up against when teams are looking for a new small forward. Players such as Nicolas Batum, Harrison Barnes, and most importantly, Kevin Durant will be on the market, catching plenty of attention in comparison to a player like Parsons who’s dealing with more surgery.

However, there still aren’t a ton of great options at the three that will be available. So for a Mavericks team who are reportedly eager to keep him around, Chandler Parsons should still earn the contract he wants, regardless of the new injury.