Cleveland Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson (L) drives past Golden States' Klay Thompson. (Photo : Getty Images)
Veteran forward Richard Jefferson shunned retirement for the meantime and decided to still suit up for the Cleveland Cavaliers for two or three more seasons, according to recent reports.
The 36-year-old Jefferson, who had just finished his one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Cavs in his 15th season in the league, previously said that he is "seriously thinking" about retirement immediately after he helped Cleveland win the NBA Championship against the Golden State Warriors recently.
"I am retiring. I am retiring," he announced while he was celebrating on the floor with the rest of the Cavs, as per ESPN.
However, in a later television interview, Jefferson held back a little saying that he is not sure yet what to do after going through the "most stressful month" of his life.
"My teammates keep trying to talk me out of it, and I'm like guys, this has been the most stressful month of my life. I was like, 'I don't know'," he said. "Maybe. If you ask me now, yes. But we'll see."
Jefferson is in the downhill of a somewhat underachieving career that began with the New Jersey Nets in 2001. He spent seven seasons with the Nets before moving to Milwaukee where played for only a year.
The former Arizona stand out then joined the San Antonio Spurs for two and a half seasons before moving to Golden State for the second half of the 2011-2012 season and then staying for one more after that.
In the last three years, Jefferson had played for three different teams, the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, and lately with the Cavs, finally winning an NBA title and playing a key role in the Finals to go with it.
Jefferson was inserted by Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue in Game 3 of the Finals to replace the injured Kevin Love and since then the team found momentum with him contributing more than was asked for.
Yahoo Sports reported that Jefferson had decided to continue on playing for two or three more seasons, preferably with the reigning champions, as he believes he is still capable of playing at the highest level.
There are no reports yet if the Cavaliers intend to give him a new contract and retain him next season.
