The legendary NBA Draft class of 1996 has completed its exit with the retirement of Kobe Bryant. Tim Duncan is the survivor of 1997 but the 1998 class still has some significant names.
Three standouts of the '98 class, Vince Carter, Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki all made the playoffs and also made their respective exits in the first round. Among the three, Nowitzki has already declared that he will opt out but return to the Dallas Mavericks.
His two classmates' plans are still unclear, though. Pierce previously said that he would retire if the Clippers win the title, but obviously, they failed. From a report by ESPN Los Angeles writer Arash Markazi,
"Paul Pierce, 38, signed a three-year, $10 million contract with the Clippers last year, but said after the game he's '50-50' on whether he will retire following the worst season of his professional career. Pablo Prigioni, who turns 39 next month, probably will retire after also having his worst season."
Pierce has a lot of time to make a decision, until October, actually as the start of training camp. He may also wait for other decisions to fall, like the big question of whether Doc Rivers will break up the big three.
The former Boston Celtic will not join the infamous list of great players who have never won a title as he and Rivers won the crown in 2008. There is another player who might be on that list, and that's Vince Carter.
Carter will forever be entrenched in the basketball world because of his legendary performance in the Slam Dunk contest in 2000 and also for the "greatest dunk" in the Olympics when he jumped over Frederick Weiss.
Will "Vinsanity" finally call it quits? Even as his game is banked on his athleticism, he has found a way to let his game mature. The latest word is that he will not retire, as he stated to NBA TV (h/t Larry Brown Sports).
"I plan on coming back," Carter said "I feel good. Body feels good."
He continued: "I'll go through the summer. When I don't feel like training or lose the passion and love for playing, then it's time to walk away. I still have it. It still bothers me to lose games and not play well, so on and so forth. I'm looking forward to a good summer and getting this whole body in shape to try it again."
Carter is still under contract with the Memphis Grizzlies for one more year worth $ 4.26 million.