Report: Chandler Parsons out for season with a meniscus tear
For the second straight season, Chandler Parsons will see his campaign end earlier due to right knee surgery.
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The Dallas Mavericks (averaging 13.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 29 minutes a game) swingman has a torn meniscus, which will require an operation. The injury is not directly related to the torn cartilage issues in the same knee that forced a “hybrid microfracture” procedure last year.
Chandler Parsons probably needs arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, a procedure that would force him to miss the remainder of the season, a source said.
The Mavericks’ forward has been diagnosed with a meniscus tear that needs to be surgically corrected. He is expected to get a second opinion, but assuming the procedure is needed, it will mean both of Parsons’ first two seasons in Dallas ended prematurely with right knee problems.
Dr. Daniel Worrel, who recently replaced Dr. T.O. Souryal as the Mavs’ team physician, gave Parsons the initial diagnosis of a torn meniscus that requires arthroscopic surgery. Parsons plans to get a second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache, a renowned sports medicine surgeon based in Los Angeles who has performed meniscus operations on several prominent NBA players.
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Sources described Parsons as distraught Monday because he was so determined to help the Mavs return to the playoffs after being limited to only one game in last season’s first-round loss to the Houston Rockets, his former team.
This falls right in line with what we heard over the weekend, via Brad Townsend at the Dallas Morning News, as the Mavs struggled to retain their place in the Western Conference playoffs even with 37-year old Dirk Nowitzki playing his tail off:
With Parsons watching the Portland game in street clothes, a Mavericks season that’s been utterly unnoteworthy at least gained a signature moment. If it wasn’t obvious before, this season clearly has acquired a “Do it for Dirk” vibe.
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“We owe it to him,” point guard Deron Williams said. “That’s what we’re here for.”
Townsend was referring to Dallas’ inspirational win over the Trail Blazers on Sunday. It may not have been the team’s most impressive win of the season, but it was certainly the most important.
Known best for being the game that saw the 37-year old Nowitzki join elite company for his age in scoring 40 points, the Mavs came back from an early 11-point deficit to take down a Portland team coached by Terry Stotts. Stotts, then working as a Mavericks assistant, has a fairly firm grasp on Dallas (admittedly, ever-evolving) playbook, and yet the Mavs still orchestrated a comeback in time to keep its playoff standing secure.
As it stands now, the team is up one game on the Utah Jazz, hanging onto that final postseason berth. The team will play again on Wednesday in Portland before heading down to work up against Golden State on Friday.
As noted above, Parsons missed Sunday’s game with what was then diagnosed as a sore right hamstring.
The optimist here can point to the fact that meniscus tears usually stem from accidents (Chandler had to leave Friday’s loss to the Warriors in the third quarter), which would make this setback unrelated to his cartilage woes and the subsequent microfracture surgery. It’s true that we’ve seen plenty of NBA athletes wear down over time due to microfracture procedures, but most enjoy a return to full health following the rehabilitation before the erosion sets in. Think Amar’e Stoudemire in 2010, and then think about Amar’e Stoudemire in 2014.
Parsons appeared to be one of those players. The microfracture operation knocked him out of training camp and the preseason, and the Mavs intelligently minded his minutes for the remainder of the 2015 calendar year. Recently, though, he’s been a major force – nailing nearly half of his three-pointers, averaging over 19 points per game over the last couple of months.
That run, however, came as the Mavs’ overall picture was crumbling. The team has gone 7-12 since the end of January, and the team has lost seven of its last nine.
Swingman options behind Parsons are limited. The team responded with a three-guard lineup on Sunday, adding Raymond Felton to the mix, with older types like J.J. Barea and Devin Harris seeing plenty of action. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle just doesn’t seem to trust 6-6 rookie Justin Anderson at this point to the consternation of some Dallas fans, but the first round pick hasn’t played all that well this season. Hybrid forward Jeremy Evans would have worked well as a stopgap, but a shoulder injury has already ended his season.
Further complicating matters is Parsons’ impending free agency.
The Mavs signed the forward in 2014 to what then seemed like an outsized bid: three years and $46 million. Even through the microfracture worry, Parsons was expected to decline his player option for next season this summer and take advantage of a rising cap in a players’ market. Even with that setback (and even with over $16 million on the table), that will still probably be the case.
Parsons was never expected to leave the Mavs, it was just assumed that he was ready to take advantage of the team and the league’s newly-established largesse. Now team owner Mark Cuban and his basketball staff will have to weigh the personal and business aspects of running a team yet again.
Russell Westbrook might be flying around again following three meniscus surgeries, but Eric Bledsoe is out for the season after his third, and Derrick Rose is clearly diminished following two surgeries (plus an ACL tear). It’s an injury that knocks a bit out of you, as the cartilage/microfracture operations do, and though a cleaned-up and 28-year old Parsons might be ready to have a career year next season, it’s the campaigns after that which will worry the Mavericks and other teams.
Right now, however, the Mavs have more pressing matters with some 14 more games left to keep their playoff hopes alive.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
