Yahoo Finance Richard Jefferson says he retired because the only team that wanted him was the Knicks
Former NBA stalwart Richard Jefferson is in the second year of his retirement, now working primarily as a Brooklyn Nets commentator for YES Network.
He revealed while calling a Nets game against the New York Knicks that he had the option to delay his retirement last season. However, he said there was only one team he could sign with, and that team was the Knicks.
He decided retirement was the better option.
"Knicks? No, I'll retire. That's why I retired, they were the one team that offered me a job."
Richard Jefferson said he knew his time in the league was up when the Knicks were the only team that wanted him. pic.twitter.com/OnH2sYTOUE— ESPN (@espn) November 25, 2019
Jefferson called it a career in 2018 after 17 years of playing in the NBA. He won a championship on the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers and was a major part of the Nets for the early stages of his career.
However, his production tailed off toward the end, seeing only 163 minutes with the Denver Nuggets in his age-37 season. The Knicks would have been hoping for little from Jefferson beyond veteran leadership for a perpetually rebuilding team, but the idea of playing for a group that eventually finished 17-65 probably wasn’t too attractive for Jefferson.
Instead, Jefferson left the court for the broadcast booth, going from literally dunking on the Knicks to figuratively.
More from Yahoo Sports:
