12:38pm: Responding to Ortiz’s report, Calderon published a tweet today declaring that he’s still waiting on an NBA offer and is continuing to train and focus on staying in shape for the upcoming season.
8:35am: Veteran point guard Jose Calderon is contemplating retirement, writes Javier Ortiz of El Periodico Extermadura (hat tip to EuroHoops). According to Ortiz, Calderon has been unable to secure a deal with an NBA team this summer and has little interest in continuing his career in Europe or Asia.
As Ortiz outlines, Calderon – who spent the 2018/19 season with the Pistons – entered the offseason intent on working out and training to stay in shape. However, after returning from a trip to Lebanon earlier this month, he decided not to resume his usual training regimen and is now focused on spending more time with his family, per Ortiz.
The NBA’s group of free agent point guards has thinned out considerably, with Jeremy Lin the latest veteran to come off the board. As such, it’s still possible that a team in need of some veteran depth will look to bring Calderon aboard for 2019/20, particularly once clubs start getting hit by injuries this fall. For now though, it looks as though the Spaniard might not return for a 15th NBA season.
In 895 career regular season games with the Raptors, Pistons, Mavericks, Knicks, Lakers, Hawks, and Cavaliers, Calderon has averaged 8.9 PPG and 5.8 APG with an impressive .472/.407/.873 shooting line. The point guard, who will turn 38 next month, played sparingly in Detroit last season, appearing in 49 games and recording career lows in PPG (2.3), FG% (.375), and MPG (12.9), among other categories.
Calderon also played professionally in Spain for seven seasons before making his NBA debut in 2005.