"Richard Jefferson, we hardly knew ye."
That's the headline I thought that I'd be running with a few weeks into the season, right around the time I predicted I'd be issuing the eulogy at the funeral of Jefferson's NBA career.
Well, lo and behold, it's still the one I went with.
And not because the 6'7" forward took note of the "staggering downswing in production" rumblings throughout the course of last season and retired at the age of 30, but because we literally did not know ye, Rich.
Or more specifically, we didn't know you had it in you.
After he mind-blowingly opted out of his $15.2 million contract in June, Spurs fans may have though they'd seen the last of Jefferson, who notched just 12.3 points in 31.1 frustrating minutes per game last year. But he managed to re-sign with the team in July, at what he considers his own type of self-negotiated contract extension.
"So you figure it out. If you're able to get four years and 40 (million dollars by opting out) from someone (which ended up being the Spurs), it's like, 'OK, I did lose out on 15 (million dollars). But I'm going to get basically a $25 million extension,'" he tol ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Pat DeCola
Richard Jefferson: The Little San Antonio Spur That Could
November 20th, 2010 by Pat DeCola Leave a reply »
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