Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

The Chandler Parsons-Houston Rockets split has not gone amicably.

Parsons left the Rockets this offseason when the Dallas Mavericks offered him a multi-year contract that the Rockets declined to match.

Then things got bad.

First, Rockets center Dwight Howard said Parsons’ absence “won’t affect us at all,” which might have been meant as a reassuring statement to Rockets fans but really just came across as a spiteful thing to say to an ex-teammate.

Parsons, to his credit, mostly brushed off the comment.

From an interview on the Jim Rome Show:

“I know he didn’t mean it. He’s one of my closest friends,” said Parsons. “He’s got to be confident with the Rockets moving forward with or without me there, so I understand where he’s coming from. I think it’s a ridiculous statement, but at the end of the day, he has to stick up for the Rockets and I don’t think he meant it in a bad way and didn’t try to bash me at all.”

Over and done with, right? Well, not quite.

To compound the Mean Girls vibe of the whole thing, Rockets guard James Harden then spoke out on the issue to the Phillipines Star:

“Dwight (Howard) and I are the cornerstones of the Rockets,” said Harden. “The rest of the guys are role players or pieces that complete our team. We’ve lost some pieces and added some pieces. I think we’ll be fine next season.”

Now, none of this is necessarily false. The Rockets acquired Trevor Ariza this offseason, who’s a fine offensive player and, frankly, a better defender than Parsons. The Rockets may very well be better next season.

But to say that losing a player as good as Parsons won’t affect the team at all seems spiteful, or at the very least a silly thing to say.

Parsons first responded to Harden on Jay Mohr’s Fox Sports Radio show saying:

“It’s a pretty ridiculous statement, if he meant that. I’m excited to go to Dallas. I’m ready for next step, a bigger role.”

Then sent out a cryptic tweet of his own:

INTRIGUE!

Of course that tweet could be referring to the ice cream guy who said Parsons shouldn’t eat two bomb pops, but for now, this is fun! Offseason NBA stuff is happening! We’ll keep you updated if anyone pulls out a burn book.