CHICAGO – The Dallas Mavericks did not pay Chandler Parsons all that money with the intention to turn him into a poor man’s Kyle Korver.

But that’s kind of what Parsons has been for most of his first month and change in a Mavs uniform.

Parsons, the versatile 6-foot-9 small forward, is launching from long distance more than he ever has, averaging 5.8 3-point attempts per game. He’s also hitting a lower percentage (32.4) from long range than he ever did during his three seasons in Houston.

Chandler Parsons finds himself launching more beyond the arc this season. Tom Pennington/Getty Images

If all the Mavs wanted from their small forward was to space the floor, they wouldn’t have spent more than $15 million per year to upgrade the position. Suffice to say that Parsons’ role in the Mavs’ offense is a work in progress.

“I’m not a shooter,” Parsons said after Tuesday’s shootaround at the United Center. “I shouldn’t just be a spot-up shooter. That’s not what I do. My best attribute is playmaking and making guys better, finding guys and making the game come easier for everybody else.

“I think I can create more obviously with the ball in my hands more. I can see the floor with my size and my passing ability. It would make things a lot easier, but I’m not one to ask for plays. I don’t need plays. I can play off the ball, I can cut and dive. I may knock down shots, but [creating is] what I do best, so that would be nice.”

It’d be a ridiculous reach to call Parsons’ early production – 14.4 points and 2.3 assists per game on 41.2 percent shooting, down significantly across the board from his stats with the Houston Rockets last season – a crisis for the Mavs. After all, he is the third-leading scorer for a team that leads the league in offensive efficiency.

But just imagine how explosive and efficient the Mavs’ offense might be with Parsons playing up to his potential. That won’t happen if Parsons simply spends the vast majority of possessions spotted up on the weak side of the floor.

“That’s basically up to the coach to put him in situations where he can succeed,” said Dirk Nowitzki, who specifically mentioned Parsons’ ability to handle the ball in transition and run pick-and-rolls with a center as facets of his game the Mavs should utilize better. “He needs to be aggressive for us. We know that.”

Coach Rick Carlisle wholeheartedly agrees. One of his priorities is to figure out ways to put Parsons in position to make more plays.

“We’ve talked about it a lot,” Carlisle said. “We’ve got to get driving the ball more as a team and specifically him. … We’ve just got to get the ball moving and get the game scrambled up offensively as best we can to create those situations.”

Parsons still ranks among the league’s most frequent driving forwards, averaging 5.1 drives per game, according to NBA.com’s player-tracking data, the only forwards who average more drives per game this season are New Orleans’ Tyreke Evans, Cleveland’s LeBron James, Utah’s Gordon Hayward and Detroit’s Josh Smith.

But that number is down significantly for Parsons from last season, when he averaged 6.3 drives per game. And he hasn’t been nearly as aggressive or effective diving and cutting to the basket when he’s off the ball. As a result, Parsons is attempting far fewer shots in the restricted area – where 49.4 percent of his shots came last season, a figure that has dropped down to 40.3 percent this season.

Of course, the relatively small sample size must be considered in analyzing these numbers, as does Parsons’ improving comfort level in his new surroundings.

“I think people don’t kind of understand how difficult it is to play on a new team with a new system and new guys on the team,” Parsons said. “It takes time, and it’s a process. People look at my stats and see that they’re lower than last year, but my role is kind of different from last year. I’m shooting a lot more jump shots. I don’t have the ball in my hands as much this year, but I think all that will come.

“I like playing with these guys. I love playing in this system. I think that the more I get used to it, the more I play here, the more options will become available.”

And the more bang the Mavs will get for their buck.