If any former athlete is making a serious case for a network TV role, it’s Chandler Parsons.
And no, it’s not for the depth of his insights but for his unapologetic presence in a space where former players are no longer shying away from speaking bluntly.
As a former NBA forward, Parsons has become one of the more vocal critics of the league, stepping up as one of the most outspoken voices in an industry that’s repeatedly been hammered by media scrutiny. He doesn’t hesitate to call out organizations or top-tier players, and when it came to the Luka Dončić trade, Parsons didn’t just toe the line — he said exactly what many of us were thinking.
But his latest take involving Luka and the Dallas Mavericks on FanDuel’s Run it Back, might just be his hottest one yet.
“Not resigning Jalen Brunson to a $55M extension could be worse than trading Luka Dončić,” Parsons boldly stated.
For all intents and purposes, Michelle Beadle hated that strawman argument.
“How many times do we have to say this? Jalen Brunson with Luka is not the Jalen Brunson we know today,” she said.
“He’s still worth well beyond $55 million,” Parsons replied.
“No, because you’re only going off of what you have now seen him be — the captain of the Knicks in Madison Square Garden,” Beadle added. “That’s not who he was.”
In discussing the All-Nico Harrison (Dallas Mavs GM) trade team possibly being contenders, which includes Dončić, Brunson, Derrick Jones Jr., Quentin Grimes and Kristaps Porziņģis, Parsons offered that they could “use all those guys right now.”
No kidding.
Parsons’ take definitely could use some context, too.
But it’s also a take for take’s sake
It’s more of a contrarian shock value moment than anything else.
Dončić is one of the top five players in the world, and it’s easy to criticize the Mavericks for not locking up Brunson — especially after seeing his rise in New York. But he’s also conveniently forgetting what Beadle pointed out, and it’s not like she’s trying to do Harrison’s PR, but no one, not even the Knicks, saw Brunson becoming the player he is now.
It’s a hot take, plain and simple, and one that plays into the what-if game without fully accounting for player development and Brunson coming out from underneath Dončić’s shadow.