How the Mavericks have complicated things for the Rockets

The Rockets could have had Chandler Parsons for less than $1 million in 2014-15, on a team option that would have seen him become an unrestricted free agent next summer. In that scenario, the Rockets would feel a little more free in chasing big name free agents this summer, while risking losing Parsons for nothing a year from now.

Instead, Houston opted to have Parsons become a restricted free agent in 2014, letting the market dictate his price now and potentially complicating their pursuit of a third All-Star to add to the James Harden-Dwight Howard combo, but maintaining the right to match any offers for the forward.

Well on Wednesday, the division rival Mavericks set that price with a three-year, $46 million offer-sheet - the maximum annual amount they could have offered Parsons, just without the usual fourth year of a max deal.

As of right now, the cap hold for Parsons on Houston's books remains just under $2.9 million, but if they were to decide to match the offer, which they have until Sunday to do, that cap hit immediately jumps to nearly $15 million. That would likely take them out of the running for finding that third All-Star. So can they nab another star before time is up on their Parsons decision?

If the Rockets can perhaps find a taker for Jeremy Lin and convince Chris Bosh to sign with them in the event Lebron James leaves Miami, all before Sunday, and then match the offer-sheet to retain Parsons' services, they would have to be seen as one of the summer's winners, despite the obvious overpayment of Parsons.

Then again, if the Rockets land Bosh before Sunday, does that make them more or less likely to match this lucrative three-year offer for Parsons? As impressive as a team of Harden, Howard, Bosh and Parsons would be, would Rockets owner Leslie Alexander really green light paying four players approximately $15-22 million for the next number of years?

And what if James, Bosh and co. still haven't made up their minds by Sunday? Matching Parsons then could take them out of a Bosh sweepstakes they're primed to win, but letting him walk in hopes of landing Bosh could see them lose Parsons for nothing with no guarantee of acquiring Miami's big man.

The Rockets could be in a tough spot here, and you know Mark Cuban has to love that he's the one that put them - an in-state rival - there.

As for Cuban's Mavericks, an average annual value over $15 million is definitely steep for Parsons, but it would also definitely bolster a team that won 49 games this past season and has already reacquired Tyson Chandler, while weakening that aforementioned Texas-rival. And thanks to Dirk Nowitzki agreeing to a an extremely team-friendly new deal, the Mavericks could steal Parsons from the Rockets while maintaining a ton of cap flexibility next summer and beyond.

If the Rockets do match the offer, 2014 might go down as another fruitless summer of dashed free agency hopes for the Mavericks. But they do now have Dirk locked up on that cost-effective deal and they can always take another stab at big names with their flexibility next summer while remaining competitive, at the very least, in the short term.

The Mavs will have to renounce some veteran free agents to make this offer to Parsons, however - like Vince Carter and Shawn Marion - and while they can un-renounce them in the event Houston matches the Parsons offer-sheet, there is the possibility that Dallas loses those free agents while waiting on the Rockets, only to fail in their pursuit of Parsons anyway.

With the 2014-15 salary cap figures now set and the moratorium on player movement officially lifted, the next few days in the Association will be fascinating as we await the decisions of James, Bosh, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade, among others. The dance that will be had between the rival Rockets and Mavericks over the next 72 hours should be equally intriguing.