Many around the NBA widely suspect that an unofficial part of Dwight Howard signing with the Houston Rockets was for the team to accelerate the free agency of Chandler Parsons.

Howard and Parsons are both represented by Dan Fegan.

No one directly involved with the Parsons negotiations, however, would confirm it.

The Rockets could have picked up their team option on Parsons at under $1 million, but they declined it in order for him to become a restricted free agent this offseason instead of an unrestricted free agent in 2015.

Parsons signed a three-year, $46 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks that the Rockets would have matched if they had also signed Chris Bosh.