Parsons, Rivers go back a long way
When asked how Doc Rivers, the coach of the Boston Celtics, knows him so well and long, Rockets forward Chandler Parsons responded with a question of his own.
“How does the coach of the Boston Celtics not draft me?” Parsons said.
The Rockets picked up Parsons in the second round of the 2011 draft after the Celtics took forward JaJuan Johnson with the 25th pick that season. The Rockets acquired Johnson in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Courtney Lee to Boston, but cut him before the season.
“I thought I was going to go to the Celtics, 100 percent,” Parsons said of the draft that season. “That was probably my best workout. I killed it.”
Parsons grew up about five minutes away from Rivers’ home in Winter Park, Fla. He played at the rival high school, Winter Park Lake Howell and played with Rivers’ son Jeremiah Rivers on an AAU team, often working out with Rivers’ children.
“I’ve known Chandler since sixth grade,” Rivers said. “Watching him turn into the player he has is really nice.”