Joel Anthony began the season with the only NBA team he’d ever known, playing in sunny Florida and trying to win a third straight championship.
Then the Miami Heat traded him to the lowly Celtics, who play in the bitter cold of Boston.
I doubt Anthony appreciated the move on any level.
At 31 years old, Anthony has a chance to return to a winning team. All he has to do is opt out of the final year of his contract, which pays him $3.8 million next season.
Chris Haynes of CSN Northwest:Boston Celtics forward/center Joel Anthony will exercise his player option for the 2014-15 season and return to the C’s, a league source informed CSNNW.com.
Although Anthony isn’t too thrilled with the current rebuilding phase of the organization, passing up a sizable guaranteed salary is not something he’s willing to do, the source explained.
Good for him. Most NBA players will never approach the money they can make while playing, and they have a short timeframe to maximize their earnings.
On a minimum contract, Anthony’s most-likely alternative, he would have made $1,227,985 next season. He’ll likely be a minimum-salary player the following year, and then, he can hunt for a title contender to take him.
For now, make that money.
