With the madness about to set upon us this Sunday with NBA free agency. I wanted to take a second to look at something that easily gets lost in basketballs contract-obsessed media cycle. Which is that players are humans, and are not solely focused on money when they make career decisions.
Note: Understand I am fully aware that I am in the 1% in terms of NBA contract obsession.
Darren Collison:
He was projected to be looking at a 3-4 year deal in the 30-40 million dollar range.
See what he has to say below...
"Basketball has been my life since I was a child. I could never imagine finding anything that brings me more joy than I get from playing the game. While I still love basketball, I know there is something more important, which is my family and my faith. I am one of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and my faith means everything to me. I receive so much joy from volunteering to help others and participate in a worldwide ministry. The joy I feel is unmatched.
With that being said, I have decided to retire from the NBA."
Nikola Mirotic:
This was even more surprising to me than the retirement of Darren Collison. Mirotic was projected to get 40-50 million over the next 3-4 years. While Collison made his choice to pursue a new career that aligned with his faith. Mirotic seems to have put lifestyle (living in Europe), over the financial opportunities afforded by the NBA.
Conclusion:
While these decisions are in no way the norm, I think it's important to recognize when players make these types of decisions. Too often, fans and pundits alike forget the human nature of the game - and how that can affect free agency discussions.