Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle apologizes to Chandler Parsons
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle apologized to Chandler Parsons on Sunday for comments he made about the forward's weight after Friday's preseason game against the Thunder, according to ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon.
"It was unfair and inappropriate to single out Chandler Parsons after the game Friday night," Carlisle wrote in a statement issued Sunday afternoon. "I have apologized to him and the entire team for this error in judgment. Not only is Chandler Parsons one of our best players, he is also one of our hardest working players and the kind of high character person we strive to bring to our city and franchise.
"I also made it clear to our players and staff this morning that this type of bad example is not acceptable and beneath the dignity of a championship organization like the Dallas Mavericks."
On Saturday, Parsons posted a shirtless picture on Instagram showcasing his six-pack.
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Carlisle said that Parsons needed to shed weight, and it was the second time since camp opened that he made comments about Parsons' conditioning.
"An increase of 18 to 20 pounds is just too much," Carlisle said Friday night. "We talked about it today. We talk about it a lot. He'll get there, but he looked tired out there and a little heavy-legged, and the extra seven or eight pounds aren't helping.
"I don't mean to call him out in public or ridicule him, but it's just a fact. He's an important guy for us. We just need him to get to his right conditioning and weight level so he can play his best because we're going to need him to play a lot of minutes over the course of 82 games."
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Parsons, who turns 26 later this month, signed a three-year, $46 million deal with the Mavs this summer and reported to training camp at around 235 pounds, which is up from his listed weight of 215 during his first three seasons with the Rockets, MacMahon reports. Dallas would like Parsons to play around 225 pounds.
Parsons averaged a career-high 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 74 games last season.
- Chris Mascaro
