NBA Rumors: Los Angeles Lakers Acquiring Chandler Parsons

NBA rumors are swirling around Chandler Parsons and his future with the Dallas Mavericks. Reports have surfaced that the four year veteran is considering walking away in free agency. Several NBA teams are said to be interested in acquiring Parsons when the free agency period begins this summer. One of the teams that are reportedly interested in signing Parsons is the Los Angeles Lakers, according to ESPN.

Even though the Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of their third straight losing season, they are still appealing to NBA players when it comes to free agency. Not only do they get to play for one of the most storied franchises in all of professional sports, they’re also living in southern California. There, players get wonderful weather, beautiful oceans, attractive women, exciting nightlife and plenty of business opportunities that professional athletes seek.

Chandler Parsons wants to be a franchise player. It appears that the Dallas Mavericks are grooming him for that role once Dirk Nowitzki retires from the NBA. A person who is confirmed to be retiring from the league after this season is Kobe Bryant, the franchise player for the Los Angeles Lakers for the past two decades. They’re going to be looking for a replacement, and Parsons may be somewhere on their long wish list.

Being a franchise player for the Los Angeles Lakers might be a bit more appealing than doing so for the Dallas Mavericks. Once Dirk Nowitzki retires, there’s not exactly a ton of talent remaining. Wesley Matthews is a good player, but he has yet to recover completely from his torn ACL injury. The rest are either older role players or younger guys that have yet to prove that they belong in the NBA.

With the Los Angeles Lakers, Chandler Parsons would have a supporting cast that is filled with young talent. Jordan Clarkson, D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle have all shown sparks of being able to develop into NBA All-Star players. Larry Nance Jr. has proven that he can some day become a good role player. It would take a couple of years for the Dallas Mavericks to accumulate the same amount of talent as the Lakers currently have.

If the Los Angeles Lakers sign Chandler Parsons as a free agent, then they have the makings of a very good starting lineup in the NBA. Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell would start at the guard positions. Parsons would take the starting small forward position that is currently occupied by Kobe Bryant. Julius Randle can be a solid power forward. That would only leave the center position that Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak would need to be concerned about.

From a schematic fit, Chandler Parsons could do well with the Los Angeles Lakers. His outside shooting ability should be an asset to Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell, two players who love to attack the basket. Julius Randle likes to play from the outside as well, which means that the Lakers can scheme up an offense that enables him and Parsons to attack from opposite wings, which would be really difficult to defend against.

With so many options available in the NBA for Chandler Parsons, no one really knows where he’s going to end up playing next season. When the season ends, he’s likely going to sit down with his agent and try to figure out where the best fit would be. Based on everything that they have to offer, the Los Angeles Lakers are definitely going to be on his wish list. Los Angeles seems like too good a fit for Parsons to not consider it.

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