Chandler Parsons says DeAndre Jordan is the 'best center in the NBA'
No one gets his ego stroked like DeAndre Jordan.
Jordan just spent two years hearing from Doc Rivers that he could be the next Bill Russell. Then, Mark Cuban told the free agent he could be a 20/20 center playing in Dallas before the First-Team All-Defense member eventually agreed to a four-year, $80 million deal to leave the Clippers for the Mavericks.
Now, Chandler Parsons, who recruited him to Dallas, is getting in on the D.J. exaggeration game.
From ESPN's Tim McMahon:
That's some high praise for a guy who doesn't do much with the ball and, though he's clearly a very good defender, might be overrated in some of the defensive aspects of his game.
Oh well. As long as the Mavs are happy, why not say those things about the newest member of the team?
(H/t ESPN.)
Photo Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
"It all came down to him being the best center in the NBA, an All-Star-caliber and MVP-caliber player in this league," Parsons told ESPN.com in his first public comments since the Mavs secured the commitments of Jordan and shooting guard Wesley Matthews, their other top target in free agency. "No doubt in my mind that [opportunity] was here in Dallas."
"I was basically just telling him that we want you," said Parsons, who organized a dinner with Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki, owner Mark Cuban, Jordan and himself at a swanky sushi restaurant in Malibu for the second free agency started Tuesday night. "You're our priority. We believe that you can be a 20 and 15 a night kind of guy. We think that you are the best center in the NBA, and we think that there's no other place better than Dallas [to prove it]."
"I think he's a perennial All-Star. I think he's the most athletic, best defending, finishing lob threat in the NBA. He has a chance to be the best center in the NBA the next 10 years."
