re: Chandler Parsons--How did this guy ever warrant $22,116,750/yr???

A few things--

$22M is not a marquee rate. That's a 2nd option rate in the modern NBA, under the new CBA. Its taking a little while for him to fall back out of the Top 15 in salary, but he's likely to slide into the 20s or 30s this year, and even farther beyond it, if he plays to the end of this contract.

What they saw, was a guy who was a 15-16 point a game scorer when healthy, who could give you 30 productive minutes without killing you defensively, and who was entering his age prime.

Parsons has yet to recover fully to be the player he was, or the player his first five or so seasons indicated he might become. It is extremely unlikely he ever will- but this isn't a huge huge reach, salary structure wise. Its just a medium risk bet that didn't pan out.