DALLAS—It’s a funny thing about contract years in the NBA. Some players, in the lead-up to a potential free-agent summer, seize the moment and maximize their financial potential. And others become … well, self-preservationists.
“I’ve been in the league for about five years now. There’ll be some guys, if they’re in a contract year, they won’t even play five-on-five or three-on-three in certain practices or certain gyms,” Gary Trent Jr., the Raptors starting shooting guard, was saying this week.
In trying to get their payday, in other words, some pros become averse to the craft for which they get paid.