Given his injury problems earlier in his career, the fact that Grant Hill is still playing at age 40 is remarkable. But while he has a second year on his contract for 2013/14, it appears likely that this season will be his last. Hill tells Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that there's a "strong chance" he'll retire this summer.
"I’m leaning toward it," Hill said. "I want to get to the end of the year and offseason and think about it, but I’m pretty confident that’s where my mind is right now. I’ve enjoyed it."
Hill, who signed with the Clippers last July, didn't appear in a regular-season game until January due to a bone bruise to his right knee. He has played in 27 games since then, but is averaging career-lows in most key categories, including minutes per game (15.5), PPG (3.2), FG% (.380), and PER (4.2).
According to Mark Deeks of ShamSports, Hill's contract, which would pay him about $2.05MM next season if he remained with the Clips, includes a $500K guarantee. The veteran forward's second year becomes fully guaranteed if he's not waived by July 1st, so I would guess that if he decides to retire, the Clips will release him before that date, saving themselves a little money. As for Hill, he'd still be making out pretty well — according to Basketball-Reference, he has earned over $140MM since making his NBA debut in 1994.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel first reported back in February that Hill was "strongly" hinting he expected to retire at season's end.