After signing a four-year, $94 million max contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, Chandler Parsons played in only 34 games and was largely ineffective. Parsons was booed by Memphis fans before being shut down to under surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.

"You get paid a certain salary, you're judged, and you're expected to perform at the highest level when you're getting paid at the highest level," Parsons says. "To put it simply, I didn't last year. I truly believe it was 95 percent injury. I don't think I've lost my game or lost a step.

"Just physically, I wasn't there last year. I was a step slow, I wasn't athletic, I wasn't fast. I wasn't myself."

Because Parsons didn't have to go through the same type of extensive rehab as he had in the previous two summers, he could focus on training.

"I dedicated my entire summer to my body," Parsons says. "I can't even really compare it to last year because it's night and day how my body feels, the kind of shape I'm in. I'm lean. I'm playing 5-on-5, one-on-one, 2-on-2, 3-on-3. Working out five times a week. I'm doing stuff now that basically I couldn't even do throughout the season last year. It's completely different."