It’s been a big year for players taking indefinite leaves of absence from a team in order to figure out a way for the two sides to part ways.
Carmelo Anthony has been away from the Rockets for nearly two months as his representatives try to find a home for the one-time star after the experiment in Houston didn’t work. J.R. Smith has likewise been away from the Cavaliers as they try to find a way to deal the veteran shooting guard to someone in need of perimeter help, rather than trying to buy him out.
The Grizzlies can now be added to the list of teams agreeing to part ways with a player before actually figuring out the specifics of that move. On Sunday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Chandler Parsons has left the team after the two sides agreed to a mutual separation and they will work on a resolution to his contract situation in the meantime.
Sources with @ESPN_McMahon: Chandler Parsons will leave the Grizzles indefinitely as management and his agent James Dunleavy work to structure a resolution on Parsons’ future with franchise. Sides agreed on separation Sunday. Parsons has been medically cleared since Dec. 21.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 6, 2019
Parsons makes $24 million this season and is scheduled to make north of $25 million in 2019-20. Injury issues have plagued Parsons’ tenure in Memphis since inking his massive deal, and now it appears his time with the Grizzlies is over.
Grizzlies owe Parsons $38M, including his $25.1M guaranteed salary for 2019-20. He's in third season of a four-year, $94M contract. Details surrounding separation soon on https://t.co/XcwLHcsHad. https://t.co/aiJWdmlB6C
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 6, 2019
The big question for Memphis is what kind of money will they recoup off of next year’s salary, because that’s clearly their goal in all of this. Their cap sheet is a mess next season, provided Marc Gasol picks up his $25 million player option, and if they can shed some of Parsons’ money in a buyout that would be big for a team that clearly needs to find some upgrades to compete in the West.
