Law firm: Parsons suffered torn labrum, disc herniation in car crash

More details have emerged about last week’s car crash involving Atlanta Hawks forward Chandler Parsons, bringing the severity of the incident – and Parsons’ injuries – into greater focus.

Parsons, who was traveling home from practice when he was involved in a three-car collision on Jan. 15, suffered “multiple severe and permanent injuries including a traumatic brain injury, disc herniation, and a torn labrum,” according to a statement from law firm Morgan & Morgan obtained by Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.

Parsons’ attorneys, John Morgan and Nick Panagakis, said the injuries he sustained in the collision – caused by a man who was later arrested for drunk driving – have “potentially (ended) Mr. Parsons’ career as a professional athlete.”

The Hawks initially announced Parsons had been diagnosed with a concussion and whiplash, without specifically mentioning the disc herniation or torn labrum.

The veteran floor-spacer is in the final season of his current contract – a four-year, $94.4-million pact he signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2016. The Grizzlies traded him to the Hawks in July in what was effectively a salary dump.

Parsons has missed significant time throughout his playing career due to basketball-related injuries. He appeared in just five games for the Hawks this season, averaging 2.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in just under 11 minutes per appearance.

The 31-year-old established himself as a strong supporting contributor on winning basketball teams during a four-season span split between the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks. From 2012-16, he averaged 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and one steal per night while shooting 38.5% from beyond the 3-point arc.

Hawks’ Parsons in concussion protocol after being involved in car accident

Atlanta Hawks forward Chandler Parsons was involved in a car accident Wednesday and has entered the NBA’s concussion protocol, the team announced.

The 31-year-old was diagnosed with a concussion and whiplash.

The Hawks added that Parsons won’t travel with the team for Friday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. His status will then be “updated as appropriate.”

Parsons has played in just five games this season, with Atlanta opting to give more minutes to its younger players. He’s averaging 2.8 points and 1.4 rebounds.

Atlanta traded for Parsons over the summer after he failed to agree to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies. He’s earning just over $25 million this season – the last in a four-year, $94.4-million contract signed with Memphis in 2016.

Report: Parsons could miss 2 weeks with knee injury

The good news is that Chandler Parsons hasn’t injured the right knee that was surgically repaired twice in the last two years. The bad news is that his left knee is now ailing.

The Memphis Grizzlies forward could miss up to two weeks with a bone bruise in his left knee, a source told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, and he’s already been ruled out of Monday’s game in Charlotte.

Parsons signed a four-year, $94-million contract with the Grizzlies in July. He missed the first six games of the season recovering from March surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee – the same knee that underwent a microfracture procedure in May 2015.

The 28-year-old has yet to find his footing with the Grizzlies, averaging 7.7 points and three rebounds on 39 percent shooting in 21 minutes per game.

Mavs’ Parsons undergoes season-ending knee surgery

For the second consecutive year, Chandler Parsons‘ season has been ended by a right knee injury that required surgery.

After news of Parsons’ potential need for surgery was first reported earlier this week, the Dallas Mavericks confirmed that Parsons underwent season-ending arthroscopic surgery Friday to address an injury to the medial meniscus in his right knee.

Parsons underwent a type of microfracture surgery on the same knee last May after the Mavs shut him down during the team’s first-round postseason series against the Houston Rockets.

After a slow start to his 2015-16 campaign, Parsons had been playing some of the best ball of his career over the last two months, averaging 17.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and a steal on an effective field-goal percentage of 61.0 in his last 33 games.

Parsons, who signed a three-year deal worth more than $46 million with the Mavericks in 2014, has a $16-million player option for next season.

Dallas enters Friday’s game against the Golden State Warriors seventh in the Western Conference, but only a half-game clear of ninth-place Utah.

Mavericks’ Parsons sustains hip injury

The Dallas Mavericks somehow escaped with a double-overtime victory against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, but it came at a cost.

Namely, swingman Chandler Parsons was forced to leave the game after picking up a right hip injury, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reports.

Parsons scored 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting, along with six rebounds, and four assists in 29 minutes before exiting midway through the fourth quarter.

The 27-year-old point forward has struggled through a frustrating injury-plagued season. He’s averaging just 8.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while playing a career-low 24.4 minutes per game.

Parsons has mostly been held to a minute restriction, and he was only recently cleared to play in back-to-backs after undergoing offseason knee surgery.

When healthy, Parsons is an effective and versatile forward in head coach Rick Carlisle’s crafty offensive schemes. Injuries, however, have made Parsons look like a shadow of himself this season.

Rockets, head coach McHale agree to 3-year, $13-million extension

By: William Lou

The Houston Rockets have agreed on a three-year extension with head coach Kevin McHale, according to a media release.

The extension is worth between $12 and $13 million, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports, and there are no options in the deal, according to a separate report from Sam Amick of USA Today.

McHale has served as head coach in Houston for the past four seasons, accumulating a record of 153-104 (59.5 percent). The Rockets have qualified for the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and currently sit in playoff position with a 20-7 record.

As compared to recent contracts inked by rookie head coaches like Derek Fisher in New York, or Steve Kerr in Golden State, McHale’s extension is relatively short in term and low annual average salary. In that sense, the Rockets may have struck a bargain with an established coach who has a strong relationship with his personnel.

McHale has demonstrated the ability to adapt to his players’ strengths. In his first three seasons in Houston, McHale employed a run-and-gun strategy with a small-ball-oriented team to great success, culminating in a fourth-ranked offense in 2013-14.

With the loss of strong offensive players in Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons, McHale reinvented the Rockets as a gritty defensive squad that currently ranks second in defensive efficiency.

Report: Nowitzki takes a massive discount, accepts 3-year, $25 million deal with Mavericks

Dirk Nowitzki really wants his Dallas Mavericks to win a second title in the near future, and he has reportedly left millions on the table to make it happen.

Marc Stein       
 @ESPNSteinLine

ESPN sources say Dirk Nowitzki has taken bigger pay cut than previously thought. Deal finalized today at three years, $25 mil for Mavs lifer

Marc J. Spears        
@SpearsNBAYahoo

There is no option in Dirk Nowitzki’s three-year, $25 million deal, a source said.

Earlier reports indicated that Dirk was taking a paycut to get to something near $10 million per season, but this latest figure is even lower, averaging out to just over $8 million.

In part, Dirk was in a position to accept less money. The Mavericks have paid Dirk over $200 million over his career, which lessens the impact of a spare million here or there.

However, Dirk’s sacrifice is made even more impressive considering the fact that he reportedly had max offers (worth over $20 million per season) on the table from both the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets.

His average salary puts him in the company of Channing Frye and Trevor Ariza in terms of deals inked this offseason.

Taking less money allows for more flexibility for Dallas to sign free-agents. Thus far, they have netted a significant name in Chandler Parsons, who took a three-year, $46 million deal.