[Talked about his trip to Cabo.] [Did you know he was coming?] I felt very strong. I told family, friends 80-90% he was coming. I was obviously never sure but knowing our situation in Houston, I thought it was a no-brainer. [Pitch?] Last time I talked to you it really picked up. I started talking to him everyday. We would face time. He had a lot of questions. I respect him for the way he handled it. Our pitch was "We have a great, young, exciting team. Arguably the best SG in the NBA. Myself, Jeremy, Omer, Beverley, a lot of good young pieces he can come play with and have fun again. He's a smiley guy. Come to Houston, have fun, smile, work hard, learn from one of the best centers ever and win instantly. That's pretty much what we pitched. [Types of questions he was asking?] He had a notebook and pen and a couple pages worth and god-awful handwriting but he was asking about team morale, ...., how can we correct his image, literally everything you could think of he asked. I give credit to the Rockets, those guys answered honestly and it went well. After that meeting, I felt more good about it. [His reputation has taken a hit. That he's more interested in having fun than not working hard, the game isn't the most important thing to him. Is any of that valid?] I think it's a little unfair. Knowing him, he's a happy-go-lucky-friendly guy. Nobody is perfect. I think Houston is a perfect place for him to come. Our network will support him and never bash him. The city and everyone will take him and his personality in. It's a perfect place to come play basketball and win games. Nobody can say anything when you're winning and I think we're gonna be doing a lot of that. It's not like he came here for money. He's definitely backed up his comments through this process about winning and that's mainly why he came. [Did that criticism wound him?] Definitely. He was hurt by it. He was frustrated even after when the reports came out he was back and forth. The media tends to leak everything. I think he was bothered by it a little bit but I don't think it will affect his game or work ethic. That gotta hurt, hearing all that negative stuff about you when you're really a good dude. [Expectations?] It is early. Right now, it's a bunch of names on paper. Knowing Morey, I'm sure he's not done making moves. As it is now, we're a top four team in the West. We have to take it day by day. We want home court and want to win as many games as possible. I think we have the talent to do that. We have to start the chemistry right now and start clicking. [If he goes to Houston, does Dwight become the guy? Who is the alpha?] I don't think there is one alpha. I'm very verbal. I'm gonna speak my mind, lead the young guys, work hard and James, Jeremy and Dwight do the same thing. We're not gonna tag one guy as the leader. It will be a group effort. Each game, someone will get hot and we'll feed them, we're gonna play inside out, keep the same up and down style, whoever is hot will get the ball. We got a lot of ways to hurt you offensively and obviously he helps defensively. [Do you expect Lin and Asik to be there?] Hard to say. I try and stay out of that. It would be frustrating. I've lost so many friends in this business in my two years here. At the end of the day, I understand they're trying to win the most games possible. I have no idea if they'll be here or traded. They're two good players that will make any franchise happy. [What are you working on with your game?] This summer I've never worked as hard in my life. That's why I went to Cabo to take a few days off. Ever since we lost game six, I've been going twice a day. Been in the weight room a lot, put on 8-10 pounds. Worked today with McHale on an off-the-block post up game, continue to get stronger. I think it will help me in the post, I think it will help me defensively. Also, being a knock down shooter. With the attention Dwight will get down low, double James will get on the opposite wing, I'm gonna get a lot of open looks and I have to step up and knock them down.
That's true, but what happens if Lin and Asik end up staying? I understand that it'd be awkward to invite them only to trade them a little later, but I'd rather the projected team get as much opportunities as possible to practice together.
It's good to hear he's putting on some weight. That's going to make a difference in defending his position as well as finishing. These guys sound serious about winning. I still think we can use a couple of solid vets.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>“<a href="https://twitter.com/blakeglover777">@blakeglover777</a>: <a href="https://twitter.com/ChandlerParsons">@ChandlerParsons</a> Do you wish the Rockets would get new uniforms soon?” I'm working on that!</p>— Chandler Parsons (@ChandlerParsons) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChandlerParsons/statuses/355766931824979969">July 12, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Not on Rome, but I couldn't find the jersey thread so I decided to put it here. Hell yes.
Parsons sounded like Lin and Asik leaving is almost inevitable, talking about them being valuable to another team
Parsons working on his post game and gaining weight to help on defense makes it sound like he's going to be playing the stretch 4 for us this season.
I think your reading into it. Look at it from Parsons' point of view. How many teammates are left from his rookie year? Almost everyone has been traded or dropped. He really doesn't know and he is just saying they are both good players. If he did know they were getting traded, I doubt he would have said "I'm gonna speak my mind, lead the young guys, work hard and James, Jeremy and Dwight do the same thing."
That's how it sounds to me also. I really was hoping Lin would stay, I think he would have a great season with this team.
So, did Parsons say that CSN is basically the team's mouth piece and is under orders to never say anything bad about Dwight?
