Just curious, because we have three guys who are near retirement (possibly as soon as this offseason), but I could see a guy like KG or Pierce getting the itch and deciding to come back.
I know players have done it in the past. Jordan retired, came back, retired, came back and retired. Magic came back at age 36 to play 32 games for the Lakers as "Buff Johnson". Several players flirted with returning like Barkley (with Jordan on the Wizards) and Reggie Miller (with the Celtics in 07/08). Rasheed apparently considered or attempted to return this year.
How does it work? Say Pierce "retired" this offseason. He has two years left on the books making 15-17 mil each season. What does "retirement" do to those cap numbers? Do we get instant relief or does it stay on the books? Does Pierce's 16.7 mil stay on our cap next year if he is "retired"? How long do we retain his rights?
Then hypothetically what if mid-season he changes his mind after being officially retired. Can he return to Boston? Is he prevented from returning to Boston? Does he completely lose that 16.7 mil and need to sign a brand new contract? Does the number remain as a cap hold to circumvent guys from faking retirement as a means of restructuring their contract? Alternatively, a disgruntled aging star might fake retirement so they can join a different team. Example: KG and Ray sign with the Heat in the offseason... Pierce "retires" and then "unretires" a month later so he too can join the Heat.
Definitely don't expect it to happen... just curious if there are rules related to this kind of thing.
Topic: How does retirement and unretirement work these days? (Read 676 times)