Chandler Parsons planning to recruit Dwight Howard to Mavericks

Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons told reporters he plans to recruit Rockets center Dwight Howard, who can opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer.

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Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons told reporters he plans to recruit Rockets center Dwight Howard, who can opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer.

During Dallas’s exit interviews following their playoff ouster by Oklahoma City, Parsons, who played for Houston from 2011–2014 and teamed with Howard during the 2013–14 season, said he believes the big man will decide to become a free agent and leave the Rockets, who currently trail the Warriors 3–1 in the first round.

Parsons also holds a free agent option, but spoke as if he would be with the Mavericks next season, citing “unfinished business.” The final year of his contract is worth just over $16 million should he choose to opt in. The 27-year-old is known as a willing recruiter on behalf of Dallas and helped the team almost land DeAndre Jordan last season. Parsons and Howard have also been teammates with USA Basketball.

Howard was asked about Parsons’s comments, and wouldn’t confirm any plans to leave Houston this summer, asking if Parsons was “a prophet.”

‘I think he can still dominate the game,” Parsons said of Howard, who had an inconsistent season with the Rockets at age 30, according to ESPN. “I think he can still be a great player in this league. And I think he's going to leave Houston, so why not come here?”

Parsons added that once his own contract is figured out, he will begin recruiting for the Mavs, who rotated players in at center next to Dirk Nowitzki this season and stand to upgrade.