Relationships at various levels at the Dallas Mavericks have not been exactly cordial or transparent in recent years.
To the episodes of sexual scandal uncovered by Sports Illustrated in 2018, and subsequently sanctioned by the NBA, we must add the power struggle that transpired to the press last June.
So the middle The Athletic He shared that Halabaros Voulgaris, director of quantitative research and development, had emerged as the most influential voice within the board since he was expressly hired by Mark Cuban in 2018, surpassing even his duties.
Voulgaris would have made decisions that were proper to the general manager Donnie Nelson. Such was the degree of overlap that generated confusion among the internal staff and even friction with Luka Doncic. So the owner chose to cut his losses: neither Nelson, nor Voulgaris, nor Rick Carlisle (who would also have seen splashed) are still on the team.
The point now is that another figure prior to Voulgaris also enjoyed great weight in decision-making, again taking on Nelson’s own tasks. As reported by the journalist from ESPN Tim MacMahon, Chandler Parsons became “Cuban’s right-hand man for a couple of years.” MacMahon adds that “the player had more than power than the executive for two years before the executive ended up prevailing in that power struggle.”
It should be remembered that Parsons landed with the Mavericks in 2014 under a three-year, $ 46 million contract after three good seasons in Houston. After that he would sign for four seasons and 96 million with the Memphis Grizzlies. Since then he has starred in a dizzying plummet that led him to play only five games in the 2019-20 academic year. In February of that year he would be cut by the Atlanta Hawks and he has not played any official game again.
In an interview conducted a few months earlier, he had acknowledged having been overcome by expectations and pressure, in addition to stating that he could never be entirely healthy to demonstrate his potential. This Monday, October 25, he will be 33 years old and his desire to play again for an NBA team is already very distant.
(Cover photo by Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)