When the Houston Rockets signed Dwight Howard, Chandler Parsons was proud to say he played a very big part in convincing him to come over. The Dallas Mavericks are using Parsons in the same way to try and sign DeAndre Jordan, while the Los Angeles Lakers are trying to do the same with Kobe Bryant.

Well, not exactly the same. Parsons has been seen dining with Jordan a number of times over the last few days. Like the Lakers, the Mavericks are also going after LaMarcus Aldridge, but if the constant stream of reports through Twitter sources can be believed, they don’t stand much of a chance in the competition for the (former) Blazers’ power forward.

But Jordan? Kobe Bryant called him up to let him know the Lakers are interested, although the Lakers also have a big interest in Aldridge, who for everyone is the top priority. The Lakers might be trying to sign both Jordan and Aldridge, but even with just Bryant, D’Angelo Russell and Robert Sacre signed on for next season, it’s probably going to be impossible to accommodate both max-contracts. Why? Kobe Bryant, that’s why. But enough about that.

The Los Angeles Clippers are also in the playing field, hoping to re-sign Jordan, but at the moment he seems a bit enchanted by the interest in him coming from the Mavericks. How does this end? Jordan could end up with all three teams, but he’s probably closer to the Clippers and Mavericks at the moment. Who knows, maybe Parsons will be the tipping factor with another center for a Texas team.