Richard Jefferson not retiring, wants to play 2-3 more years

While many thought that Richard Jefferson would go out on top after winning the 2016 NBA Finals, he’s not retiring and wants to play a few more years.

After winning the 2016 NBA Finals as a key player for the Cleveland Cavaliers, many thought veteran forward Richard Jefferson was going to retire after finally winning a championship at 35 years old.

However, that does not seem to be the case. According to Chris Mannix of The Vertical of Yahoo! Sports, “not only is Richard Jefferson not retiring, he’s looking to play 2-3 more years.”

Jefferson is coming off a great year as a key rotational piece for the 2015-16 Cavaliers. He stepped up in big moments when Cleveland needed him, especially when starting power forward Kevin Love was dealing with a concussion in Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals.

Though way past his prime, when he was an All-Star with the then-New Jersey Nets, if Jefferson wants to keep playing for a few more years, he has shown he can be a key veteran leader on a championship-caliber team.

He’ll enter 2016 NBA free agency as an unrestricted free agent after signing a one-year deal with Cleveland last summer worth the veteran minimum of $1,499,000. Though he probably wants to go back to Cleveland to play with LeBron James and defend their 2016 NBA Championship, he might want a two-year deal worth slightly more than the contract he signed last summer.

The NBA salary cap will increase on July 1 and Jefferson might garner more than just the veteran minimum after his stellar 2016 NBA Playoffs. Cleveland would be wise to retain their versatile veteran power forward and he might take a pay cut to win with the 2016-17 Cavaliers.

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