Parsons had a very successful first five seasons in the league. Three which were with the Houston Rockets and two were with the Dallas Mavericks. He averaged over 14 points per game in his time with both of those teams.
He looked to be on his way to a special career. The Memphis Grizzlies signed him to a four year, $94.8M max deal in the summer of 2016. They had just been swept by the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs with Mike Conley and Marc Gasol out due to injury. They signed Parsons to try and form a big 3 to compete in the western conference.