Chandler Parsons is 25 years old in his 3rd NBA season. This, right now, is his prime. As for the comparison to Ginobili,
Jones will eventually be included in a package for another all star quality player. He is in a great situation playing along side Howard/Asik and Parsons and gets many easy baskets from the attention given to Howard and the penetration of Harden and Lin. Defensively he overall mediocre. He blocks shots and has the ability to defend well. However he is often out of position and does not make smart decisions.
"Hakeem Olajuwon isn't walking through that door. Neither is Clyde Drexler." - Rick Pitino The Rockets won that title in large part because of the best defensive center in 50 years and the second best player of his generation (Olajuwon). If Harden or Howard morphs into Olajuwon, we can rehave this discussion.
i don't think we are a championship team as currently constructed, but I don't think Dmo and TJones are necessarily the reasons why. I think the pace of their maturation and development will be a major determining factor in how competitive we are. It's clear that Dmo and Jones both get exposed on the defensive end against better 4's. They certainly need to improve defensively, but i actually think that it's our turnovers, poor shooting, and our perimeter defense that are holding us back the most. Sure i'd like to get better defense, rebounding and spacing out of the 4-spot, but if we made progress on those three issues i mentioned, we'd be much closer to legitimately contending.
I do not usually buy into the argument that player "X" is going to keep getting better..... however Parsons HAS gotten better every year and it is certainly possible he is not quite in his prime, especially with his skill set. Most players are "what they are" by 25, but there are exceptions.... Having said that I think that Morey sees Parsons more of a Dennis Johnson role, and not a 3rd star.
IMHO a players peak is 27.5. But you are right that he may be about there. Another 2 points and a rebound would be nice.
I think Morey said this is a "3 year window". Not sure what he's looking at to come to that conclusion, but I'm sure it's well grounded. To answer the OPs question, my guess is no. I think they will both end up being quality players, but their development falls outside of our "window". Need to get Love next year to fill our holes (defensive rebounding and perimeter shooting) and bring us up to OKCs talent level.
Dwight's contract is 4 years with player option last year. It's guaranteed that he is at Morey's mercy for the next 3. I expect Dwight to opt out for his one last meaningful contract after 3 years.
Right now we need a guy like Crawford (from the Clippers) who can come in and light it up with reliable shooting and clutch baskets. We don't have anybody like that who can be our Vinny "the microwave" Johnson.
