Lance Stephenson was a hot commodity during the 2014 NBA Free Agency period, and he had several options. Stephenson could choose between several teams like staying with the Indiana Pacers or going to the Dallas Mavericks, but he ultimately decided to sign with Michael Jordan's Charlotte Hornets.
However, if it weren't for Mavs getting Chandler Parsons from the Houston Rockets, we might have saw Stephenson in a Mavs uniform right now for the 2014-15 NBA season.
According to Bleacher Report via Sports Glory, Stephenson initially had a verbal commitment with the Mavs until the Parsons signing came up.
By the weekend of July 11, both sides had verbally committed to a two-year contract worth slightly more than Stephenson’s eventual deal with the Hornets, according to Ebanks. But Dallas was in a holding pattern; the Houston Rockets first had to match Chandler Parsons’ Mavericks offer, or it wouldn’t happen.
“It was a domino effect,” Ebanks said. “Dallas did not think that Houston was going to let Parsons walk. Lance was very close to being a member of the Mavericks. When you’re a little further along into free agency, people are more in the position to pull the trigger when they see what they’re looking for.”
This is some interesting news, because Stephenson would have fit tremendously well in Dallas. Of course, Parsons is not bad at all either, and probably might have been the better option for Dallas.
We'll see how both end up performing for their respective teams this season.
