The two-year "Dwightmare" ended in a dream scenario for the Houston Rockets, who stockpiled young assets and draft picks, and over two seasons transformed them into shooting guard James Harden, and center Dwight Howard, which figures to be the organization's core for the future.
A key element in acquiring that second piece, Howard, was a lesser known member of the team-Chandler Parsons.
At a Team USA minicamp Parsons told media members "I think I had a big impact. The first thing he said at the press conference was that, 'You guys should thank Chandler Parsons because he is a big reason why I am here.'
Parsons averaged 15.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game last year, but that wasn't his chief selling point to Howard; it was the way their personalities meshed. "I was just that guy trying to make him feel as comfortable as possible. We have very similar personalities. We are both outgoing. We're always smiling. We like to have fun. I made him really comfortable that he was not only coming to a really good team, but a team with his friends on it."
Howard is jovial by nature, a trait that seemed to irk Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers; his nickname is "Black Mamba" after all, and his frosty relationship with Howard is believed to be one of the top reasons D12 ditched L.A. and an extra $30 million.
Parsons said he also sold Dwight on the young, fun core he could be a part of.
"I told him how good I thought we could be," Parsons said. "If you add him with me, James and Jeremy [Lin], Omer Asik ... [and] what better coach to play for than a top-50 NBA player of all time in McHale? With "Dream" [Hakeem Olajuwon], Yao [Ming] and Ralph [Sampson] and all these centers that had success in Houston, I think it was a no-brainer for him."
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