There’s definitely a narrative in which Chandler Parsons got the last laugh this summer. The Dallas Mavericks refused to offer a maximum contract to Parsons, who reportedly would have accepted such an offer, in hopes of luring more enticing free agents to replace him. Not only did numerous Western Conference rivals agree to offer that contract to Parsons, and the Mavericks top two free agent targets seemingly just used them for leverage to re-sign with their current teams, but most dramatic of all is that one of those targets, Mike Conley, apparently recruited Parsons to come play with him in Memphis. There’s nothing like sticking it to the one that spurned you.

This is a bit of a narrow way of looking at how Parsons’ signing effects the grand scheme of things, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the fashion-forward forward embraced a plotline better suited for The Bachelorette.

Parsons would be wise, though, to not look at his new team through the lenses of how it affects his old one. How Parsons plays in comparison to how Harrison Barnes, the forward the Dallas Mavericks were willing to sign to a max contract, plays is ultimately irrelevant. How he is able to complement his new teammates is much more important, because Memphis took no small risk by signing him.

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The Grizzlies were at a crossroads this offseason. Things only had to go a little differently for them to have been headed towards the bottom of Western Conference for at least a few years. Signing Parsons to a four-year $94 million deal was a conscious attempt to extend the Grizzlies window of contention. It’s obviously a much more exciting direction to go than the alternative, but it’s a pretty short window and the burden of taking advantage of it will fall on Parsons’ shoulders.

In the third year of Parsons’ deal the Grizzlies will be paying a combined $80 million to Parsons, Conley and Marc Gasol who will all be over 30 years old. That amount will increase the next year. Parsons is coming off his second knee surgery in two years. Conley is coming off an Achilles injury. Gasol is coming off foot surgery. This experiment has to go well soon, because it’s just as likely to go bad later.

Aesthetically, Parsons is more Glitz N’ Glamour than he is Grit N’ Grind. That might stand as an apt metaphor for the end of an era, because as far as basketball is concerned, Parsons arrival will mean a much-diminished role for the man most responsible for cultivating Grit N’ Grind in Memphis.

Zach Randolph and Chandler Parsons are not a good fit alongside each other. Maximizing Parsons’ potential will mean taking Randolph out of the starting lineup. Parsons’ offensive game is made up of a lot of pump-fakes and drives, and he doesn’t need two big men clogging the lane for him, especially if one can’t jump high enough to catch lobs above the rim.

Prioritizing Parsons over Randolph makes sense if the Grizzlies consider themselves contenders. Parsons is a modern NBA combo forward who can spread the floor, and who doesn’t play well with power forwards. A little-noted truth about his time in Dallas, while not a total disaster, was that he did almost nothing on the basketball court that took any pressure off of Dirk Nowitzki. His most effective role was sliding into the power forward spot when Nowitzki took a rest. The Grizzlies know this, and Randolph is 34 years old.

That said, diminishing Z-Bo’s role will not help Parsons endear himself to the Grizzlies’ faithful if he doesn’t put up results in the process. And, in a vacuum, Randolph always manages to produce baskets and rebounds to a certain extent, which can be more valuable than the theoretical potential that Parsons never actually delivered on in Dallas.

Parsons possesses a very valuable combination of skills that justify his contract. At 6’10 he can shoot, dribble, pass and finish at the basket, while providing average-to-above-average defense. Those skills at that height aren’t all that common and can serve as a cog that allows an entirely simple and effective style of team play.

All successful teams need a player at Parsons’ position who can do some version of the things he does. The problem with him as a stand alone player is how many NBA players at that position there are who he simply cannot stop on defense (Lebron James, Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan, Carmelo Anthony, Gordon Hayward, Rudy Gay, Paul George), OR who can prevent him from scoring simply by choosing to stop letting it happen (Kawhi Leonard, Justise Winslow, James, George) and a bevy of players like Nicolas Batum, Jeff Green, and Tobias Harris who can eat (and have eaten) his lunch on any given night.

Parsons’ values is determined by how much better he can make a team by applying his skills in a way that complements his teammates. The verdict on Parsons might be similar to the ground that Lamar Odom stood on before him. If Parsons is a team’s second best player, that team probably isn’t very good. If he is a team’s third best player, and fits well alongside the other two, then all of a sudden he’s the key to unlocking a team’s potential.

Conley is a willing facilitator and could captain transition opportunities alongside Parsons. Gasol is an extremely unique center. In a basketball sense, Dwight Howard is probably the most fitting teammate Parsons has ever had. Parsons loves athletic centers who can catch lob passes. A pick-and-roll between a 6-10 forward and a 7-0 center is tough to stop. Gasol is less explosive than Howard, but can pop out and hit shots and is a terrific passer.

It’s possible that Parsons might have found two perfect stars to play alongside, but those two stars have established their abilities much more effectively than Parsons over their careers so the burden will be on him to fit in.

Over the course of Parsons’ two years in Dallas, the Mavericks played 10 playoff games. Parsons only played one of those games, missing the rest to injuries. Parsons needs to be more than just healthy come playoff time next season. He needs to be moving the needle for the Grizzlies, because signing him was certainly not a decision for the future.