Veteran point guard Darren Collison made a shock retirement from the NBA last summer at the age of 31, citing his faith as a deciding factor in his decision to walk away from the game after 10 seasons. Despite the best efforts of contending teams, he's not returning to the league any time soon.
Both the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers put on the full recruiting pitch over the past week or so, but Collison has told teams that he won't be playing this season because, "the timing isn't right," according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
On Thursday night, Collison was spotted sitting courtside next to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss during the team's matchup with the Houston Rockets. At the time, Collison told ESPN that he was, "just watching the game, ain't nothing to it."
Still, his appearance at Staples Center fueled all sorts of rumors, and led to speculation that he might be close to a deal.
This time, at least, it turns out there really was nothing to his meeting with Buss. Collison's decision takes the best available point guard off the market, and leaves contenders looking at the buyout market for backcourt depth. Unfortunately for them, the options are pretty slim.
Evan Turner is expected to be bought out by the Timberwolves, but he isn't a true point guard and is past his prime. The likes of Isaiah Thomas, Tim Frazier and Trey Burke have all been waived already, but it's hard to see how any of them really boost a contender. Meanwhile, other buyout candidates include the likes of Matthew Dellavedova, Allen Crabbe and Tyler Johnson, but it's still unclear if they'll hit the market.
Both the Lakers and Clippers have established that they're top teams as things stand, but adding some depth can never hurt, and a veteran ball handler and decision maker like Collison would have given either team a solid boost in their title chase. Now, it looks like they both might have to just make do with the talent already in their respective locker rooms.
