Cuban: Mavs choosing Barnes over Parsons 'wasn't a basketball issue'

The Dallas Mavericks let Chandler Parsons walk in free agency this offseason before signing Harrison Barnes to a max deal.

Parsons is the more proven player, but he's three years older than Barnes and has battled knee injuries. Overall, the move doesn't appear to represent much of an upgrade, if at all, and despite Parsons' departure to Memphis, Mavs team owner Mark Cuban is still friends with him.

So why was Dallas so reluctant to offer the 27-year-old forward a max deal (which he ultimately received from the Grizzlies)?

Cuban wouldn't say much, but he did imply the decision was based on matters off the court.

"Can't go into any details, but I'll just say it wasn't a basketball issue," he said on ESPN Radio's "The Afternoon Show."

"Chandler obviously is a very, very skilled player. There's a lot of great things to his game. But he's, in essence, a different player from Harrison. Harrison is longer, more athletic, younger.

"Just like Chandler really didn't get a chance to have his game blossom when he was with the Rockets. He just showed glimpses of it because of Dwight (Howard) and James (Harden) being there. I think Harrison was kind of in the same role. I think we're going to give Harrison the opportunity and I know he's excited about the opportunity to really shine and be a featured guy for us."

Related: Cuban says Harrison Barnes will become a go-to guy

It's curious that Cuban said the team chose Barnes for reasons unrelated to basketball, and immediately followed that up by comparing his game and traits as a hooper to Parsons'.

Even if Dallas didn't retain the Florida graduate due to off-court issues, Parsons maintains his decision to leave had everything to do with basketball. When he inked a $94-million deal with the Grizzlies, he said it "should show everybody that basketball is obviously my No. 1 priority."