Collison still wants to play, but where?
Every time Nick Collison made his way to the scorer’s table this season at Chesapeake Energy Arena, the roars for No. 4 rivaled those for No. 0.
Then, you knew what was coming.
In a Feb. 3 game against Memphis, seconds after Collison checked in, he threw a backdoor bounce pass to Anthony Morrow for a reverse layup. Then, the 36-year-old Collison reprised his role as designated Zach Randolph defender.
After a rare secondhalf start for Collison, Randolph was forced into a missed shot, but fouled on the rebound attempt. Collison looked up at the replay and smiled.
Collison’s contract is up. His time on the Thunder may be as well. But the 13-year veteran doesn’t appear to be done playing.
“I still think I have
something to offer,” Collison said at his exit interview April 26. “I plan to play for sure. I wasn’t sure going into the season how I would feel at the end of the year, but I still enjoy playing.
“(The) team has got a lot on their plate, and we’ll see what happens.”
Will that full plate – from deciding whether to re-sign Taj Gibson, to Enes Kanter’s future – include Collison? The frontcourt logjam affected Collison’s playing time the most, as he saw his minutes (128) and games played (20) decrease for the fourth consecutive season. Norris Cole, acquired on March 1, played just three fewer minutes than Collison in 13 games.
Throughout the season, Collison claimed he didn’t have his mind made up about his future. He’ll be a free agent on July 1. His No. 1 priority is spending more time with his 10-year-old daughter, Emma, who lives in Kansas City during the season and with him in the offseason.
Yet, one of the advantages of less playing time is that Collison feels fresh, another incentive for him to continue his career. Even if he knows playing time will be slim – for the first time in his career, Collison didn’t play in the postseason with the Thunder – Collison relishes the days he can go 5-on-5 in practice. “I don’t get beat up,” Collison said.
“I think going into this year he kinda knew it wasn’t going to be what it’s been,” Collison’s father and high school coach, Dave, told
“He’s talked about that.
“But I think the fact that he hasn’t played much the last couple of years means he’s still pretty healthy.”
Collison received two player votes for the AllStar team, which the veteran found particularly funny leading into the All-Star Break.
At the end of discussing the benefits of the player vote, Collison administered a dose of selfdepreciating comedy.
“… I felt like I would get more votes than that, though,” he joked.
For the first time in Collison’s career, Thunder general manager Sam Presti will have to compete with other teams for his service. The Thunder has extended Collison’s contract twice since moving to Oklahoma City. Free agency is new territory in the relationship.
“If there’s a way to make that happen on our end of things, we’re going to look to try to make that happen,” Presti said of Collison’s return. “That’s just how we feel about him.”
There’s a coaching position open as well after the departure of Anthony Grant to Dayton. Has the organization talked to Collison about life after playing basketball, possibly in a frontoffice or coaching role?
Collison said “not much.”
When asked to clarify, Collison circles back to be clear about the “post-basketball” conversation between he and Presti.
The two were spotted together earlier in the year at an OU-Kansas basketball game. With rumors circulating about Collison potentially taking a front-office role, he said he went to the game with Presti simply because the Thunder GM said he was going. Also, Collison – who often goes to watch Kansas play when they come to Norman or Stillwater – didn’t want to sit alone.
Presti, 40, is his friend, closer to Collison’s age than most of the Thunder players.
They are two lasting images of the franchise’s move from Seattle to Oklahoma City.
“If they’re interested, once post-career comes they’ll talk to me,” Collison said of the idea of joining the front office or coaching. “Like I said, I’m a player now.”
Then, Collison deadpanned before breaking into laughter.
“… I’m getting All-Star votes, so clearly I’m a player.”