Kurt Thomas, Ben Wallace - NBA Players who might not return if the Lockout lasts for long (Part-3)
Kurt Thomas
Chicago Bulls’ veteran power forward Kurt Thomas officially became the oldest player in NBA after the retirement of the Boston Celtics’ big man Shaquille O’Neal earlier in the offseason. Thomas, who is going to turn 39 in October, is still pretty active on the court and seems like he has a lot to offer. However, if the NBA lockout wipes out the games in the next season, Kurt might consider retirement and finally call it quits after more than 15 years of action on the courts of NBA.
Thomas was acquired by the Miami Heat back in 1995 as the 10th overall pick. The best era of Kurt’s’ inspiring career was with the New York Knicks from 1998-2005, when he earned the reputation of a constant double-double threat and had a huge impact on the opposition. He played last season with the Bulls and there have been rumours about his possible linkup with the Knicks again.
However all of that can go to waste, if the NBA and the players fail to sort out their issues and that too soon.
Ben Wallace
Power forward Ben Wallace is one of the best defenders NBA has ever produced. In his prime, the four times NBA Defensive Player of the Year averaged more than 12 rebounds per game and was a formidable threat on the offence as well.
In the last few years, Ben’s performance has dropped down considerably both defensively and on the offense, which has much to do with this age and the injury on top of that. In the last season with the Detroit Pistons, Wallace posted the lowest stats since the rookie year. He averaged only 2.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game accompanied with a significant drop down in the playing minutes.
With the aging body and injury problems, Wallace is expected to take the decision of retirement if the NBA lockout stays for a longer period of time.
Joe Smith
Joe Smith, the number one draft pick in 1995, has been running the show for a number of NBA teams throughout his career. However, in the final phases of his career, Smith is struggling to keep pace.
During the 2010-2011 season, the 35 year old player was traded by the Atlanta Hawks to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played only 12 games. The man, who scored 15.3 points and 8.7 boards per game in his rookie season, only managed 0.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in the Lakers uniform. Joe played five games in the post-season and failed to land a single bucket.
Smith’s playing minutes received a major setback last season when he nearly benched almost the whole time. He played only 16 games with less than five minutes of playing time in the 2010-2011 regular seasons. The lockout thus might be the final push that Smith needs to leave the game once and for all.
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