Anyone else really surprised by KG?

[Fred Roberts]

Anyone watch the interview with Steve Nash?  Laker's owe him $11 million, and he is coming  back to collect it. He hopes he plays okay, but..it is all about the money. $12 million is alot of money to walk away from, even though he has made sooooo much in his career. How much is too much?
This is sad, I would like to see him walk away with pride.  Same with Allen, rumors of him following LeBron, what a way to go out.

Not everybody walks away from guaranteed money like Bird did when he decided he was done. KG isn't very good anymore, but he's still able to get on the floor and contribute something. Bird, Nash and others were physically unable to play for the most part. KG still kinda sorta can and he's got Bird level pride in what he can bring. Power to him.

[thehumburger]

I'd have to consider a player picking up a $12M option when they couldn't get a quarter of that on the open market about the least surprising thing to happen in the NBA. But I'd also agree that it's depressing watching such a ferocious and prideful player deteriorate to that level. Here's hoping KG can keep knocking down those 18 footers to give his team some value on that contract.

[D.o.s.]

Anyone watch the interview with Steve Nash?  Laker's owe him $11 million, and he is coming  back to collect it. He hopes he plays okay, but..it is all about the money. $12 million is alot of money to walk away from, even though he has made sooooo much in his career. How much is too much?
This is sad, I would like to see him walk away with pride.  Same with Allen, rumors of him following LeBron, what a way to go out.

Not everybody walks away from guaranteed money like Bird did when he decided he was done. KG isn't very good anymore, but he's still able to get on the floor and contribute something. Bird, Nash and others were physically unable to play for the most part. KG still kinda sorta can and he's got Bird level pride in what he can bring. Power to him.

Nash also hasn't retired.

[SHAQATTACK]

I can't afford to walk away from millions.

It would be hard though to have people laugh and joke , when your finished as a star

It must hurt his pride a lot , not being able to dominate like he once could .....basically showing up to get a contract paycheck

Still love him ...no matter

[puskas54_10]

KG was always about the money too, not just the love of the game. I think he earned the most money in the NBA history along with Shaq.
If somebody really believed he will let big money on the table then he/she has not seen enough NBA.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I'm surprised. I understand wanting to get paid, but I thought KG would retire before playing on a team that had no Pierce AND no Doc. He's a shell of his former self, and that Nets team isn't going far. Shaping up as a sad ending to a great career.

[celticsclay]

Also, something else that I wonder if is an issue is how injuries at the end of careers impact these guys quality of life after they retire.

I would have to imagine that Shaq, hurting his achilles the way he did at 39, there is a good chance he is going to have some discomfort from that the rest of his life. That is something I really wish someone could ask him.

If kg has any more knee issues this season, does it end up being something that impacts him down the road?

Other posters make a really good points about KG as a trash talker. Would be really interesting with scrubs dunking on him what KG says at this point.

[Greenbean]

I am a little bit surprised but Im not walking away from 10 mil. No way.

Im also not surprised his skills have declined so sharply, but he is also still very effective.

If I am surprised by anything it is his lack of insistence on playing for a contender.

[celts10]

I thought KG was gonna retire or at least negotiate a buyout so that he could join a team which had a legitimate shot at going to the Finals. But then I remembered it's KG, a guy who is fiercely loyal to his teammates and city. He never wanted to leave Minnesota until they forced him out, same thing with Boston.

I remember KG raising his Brooklyn jersey in Game 3 against Toronto. The jersey he wears represents pride to him.

[dtrader]

Prior to last year, no one would have been saying any of this.  KG had a bad year...injury riddled and far less effective than were used to seeing...but there's no way to say definitively whether that was a bad year or a sharp decline toward his end.  I wont be surprised at all to see him come back next year and play extremely well (in short minutes since that's all he'll be given due to his age).

Maybe it's blind optimism, but I think he's still got it.

[Finkelskyhook]

Anyone watch the interview with Steve Nash?  Laker's owe him $11 million, and he is coming  back to collect it. He hopes he plays okay, but..it is all about the money. $12 million is alot of money to walk away from, even though he has made sooooo much in his career. How much is too much?
This is sad, I would like to see him walk away with pride.  Same with Allen, rumors of him following LeBron, what a way to go out.

Please don't put a pompous jerk like los Nash....Who plays when he feels like playing and can't spell "defense" ....In the same paragraph as Garnett.