There is a new twist in the Chandler Parsons saga. The veteran forward hasn't played in over two months due to yet another knee problem, but he says he's now healthy and the team just won't let him play.
During a recent interview, Parsons vented about the Grizzlies' decision to hold him out despite the fact that he's "medically cleared," and pointed to poor communication as another point of frustration. Via the Commercial Appeal:
"The most confusing part for me is I'm healthy. I'm medically cleared by the people I work with every single day, that are experts at this kind of stuff, so it's frustrating to watch a team struggle and I'm sitting there on the bench healthy, dying to play."
"No communication. No nothing. I don't think it's from a basketball standpoint. It's definitely not from a health standpoint. I've been cleared by the medical staff of our organization, and clearly it's not about fitting. I already earned a starting spot out of training camp and have shown I can fit with the team. I think the confusion for me is there's no communication about what's going on and when I'm going to play."
Despite coming into the season healthy, and with hopes that he had finally put his injury-riddled past behind him, Parsons only made it three games before developing a knee issue. After weeks of vague "knee soreness" updates, the team hoped Parsons would return on Dec. 21 against the Kings, he will have another opportunity to make his return on Monday night when the Grizzlies face off against the Houston Rockets (7 p.m. ET -- Watch on FuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension).
That obviously hasn't happened, and it's unclear when Parsons will get on the floor again this season. Making this entire circumstance even more frustrating for everyone is that Parsons is in the third year of a four-year, $94M deal. It's just an unfortunate situation and, at this point, it doesn't seem like there will be a happy ending for either side.
