San Antonio Spurs: Corey Maggette’s Swan Song

Earlier this week, Corey Maggette said if he is waived by the San Antonio Spurs he’ll retire from the NBA.

I guess that means we can expect the official announcement soon. The Spurs cut the 14-year veteran on Tuesday after two preseason games.

Coming into San Antonio, Maggette knew that his stance on the roster wasn’t certain and he had to fight to stay on the team. A fight that he evidently did not win.

What Went Wrong?

When the Spurs decided to give the 33-year-old a chance on a non-guaranteed contract approximately two weeks ago, they had a vision of a trusty veteran who could rough up his opponents in the limited time that Kawhi Leonard would be on the bench. Maggette made a reputation in the league for his abiity to cut into the paint and draw free throws.

In the two games Maggette played in preseason, he totaled 13 points on 2-for-12 shooting, six rebounds and four assists in 48 minutes. He got the line a total of 10 times and made nine of his attempts as well, but clearly the Spurs didn’t see enough out of him to hold on.

Looking at recent years, it looks like Maggette was on the decline anyway. He played 18 games with the Detroit Pistons last season and 32 with the Charlotte Bobcats the previous year. He averaged 14.3 minutes in Detroit, and though he averaged 15 points in Charlotte, he did so on 37.3 percent field goal shooting and suffered multiple injury setbacks.

Remembering Maggette

Drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 13 pick in the 1999 NBA draft, Maggette saw his time as a Sonic cut extremely short as he was traded shortly thereafter to the Orlando Magic, where he would play out his rookie year.

After one season, he would play the following nine with the Los Angeles Clippers and make his name as a force in the paint and a master at getting free throw opportunities. He led the league in free throw attempts in 2004. His best season came in the 2004-05 season when he averaged 22.2 points and six rebounds. He also was a part of the 2005-06 Clippers playoff experience, where the team won its first playoff series since the Buffalo Braves era of the ’70s.

Maggette also had a couple productive years with the Golden State Warriors after signing a five-year contract with them starting with the 2008-09 season. After his time in Golden State is when the decline began to take notice and he started bouncing around a bit, being traded every year of his contract following to the Bobcats, then the Milwaukee Bucks, then the Pistons.

Maggette’s Future

Corey Maggette may soon be swapping his jersey for a suit in an NBA front office. (NBA.com photo)

Rewind back to the summer, when a report by Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld said Maggette considered retiring to search for an NBA front office position. It makes sense to believe that he will now take on this goal.

The National Basketball Player’s Association (NBPA) Leadership Development Program is one way that current players learn about the world of the front office, a program that Maggette took part in. In addition, he traveled to Italy with Pistons assistant general manager George David for Adidas Eurocamp to shadow David as well as learn how other team representatives scouted talent.

He’s shown the work ethic to be serious about continuing his life with the NBA in the form of a front office role. If this is the end of Maggette as a player, it’s been a pleasure watching him on television all these years and I wish him the best of luck in his future goals.

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