DALLAS -- Not many NBA preseason openers get this much hype.

Chandler Parsons, the Dallas Mavericks’ prized free-agency acquisition, understands that the hype is primarily fueled by the fact he will be facing his former team, the Houston Rockets.

“It’s funny how they scheduled that,” Parsons said with a grin.

Parsons insists, however, that Tuesday night’s game at the American Airlines Center isn’t important because of the opponent. It’s important because it’s his first game in a Mavs uniform and his first chance to play in true game conditions with his new teammates (although Dirk Nowitzki will sit out to rest his sore right hip).

Of course, it’s also a golden opportunity to rehash the rather entertaining and tense public exchanges Parsons had with some Houston folks after the Rockets declined their right to match the Mavs’ three-year, $46 million offer to the restricted free agent.

Highlights included Houston general manager Daryl Morey’s day-after statement that the Rockets let Parsons leave so his large salary wouldn’t prevent them from pursuing a third star to pair with James Harden and Dwight Howard, along with Harden’s comments that Parsons was merely a replaceable role player. In both instances, Parsons fired back via the media, offended that the Rockets didn’t realize he was developing into that third star.

“I don’t understand why it got messy,” Parsons said. “It wasn’t my choice, it was their choice to not pick up the option, so I don’t understand why there’s hard feelings toward me. But I haven’t thought about it. At the end of the day, I’m excited because it’s a game.

“I’m playing with my new team. I’m here in Dallas, and I’m excited to get on the floor with them. It doesn’t really matter who it’s against. It’s time for us to work on what we need to get better and see where we stand and improve from there. Obviously because it’s the Rockets, everybody’s going to hype it a little bit, but it’s just a game to me.”

The reality is that Morey did Parsons a massive favor by declining the team option to pay him six figures in what would have been the final season of his rookie contract, making the small forward a restricted free agent, a strategy that backfired on the Rockets. That put Parsons in position to get a 1,500 percent raise from a team that views him as a foundation piece, not a complementary part.

“I think I haven’t even scratched the surface of how good I can be in this league,” Parsons said. “To put me around these players in Dallas and this coaching staff and this organization that’s always striving to be the best, I think the sky’s the limit for my potential. This is where I wanted to be throughout the whole process. I’ll prove that.”

The preseason opener represents the first step for Parsons in the process of proving it. It just happens to come against Houston.