Spurs release Corey Maggette; retirement next?

Corey Maggette may retire after being released by the Spurs. (Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images) The Spurs announced Tuesday the release of Corey Maggette, a move

Corey Maggette may retire after being released by the Spurs. (Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images)

The Spurs announced Tuesday the release of Corey Maggette, a move the veteran forward recently said would lead him to retire after 14 years in the NBA.

Maggette, 33, signed a training camp deal with San Antonio in September after bouncing around the league in recent years. The 1999 lottery pick was attempting to find a roster spot backing up Kawhi Leonard on the wing, the same spot held by Stephen Jackson and Tracy McGrady last season.

With Leonard, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green and Marco Belinelli making up a deep and talented wing corps, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich apparently decided there was no room for Maggette, who averaged 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game during the preseason.

Maggette told the San Antonio Express-News earlier this month that he would retire if he didn't make the cut with the Western Conference champions.

“It was either this or I was going to retire,” Maggette told the paper. “I'm either going to play, or I'm not. And if not, I'll be done.”

The Duke product has played for the Warriors, Bucks, Bobcats and Pistons since 2010, and his production and playing time have quickly waned since his best years with the Clippers and Warriors. Once an aggressive scorer capable of averaging 20+ points per game whose attacking style regularly kept him among the league's leaders in free throw attempts, Maggette has been reduced to a trade chip in recent years, as his eight-figure contract was passed around in cap-clearing maneuvers. The Pistons opted not to re-sign Maggette after the final season of a five-year, $50 million deal signed in 2008 expired this summer.

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