Al Jefferson does not plan to opt out of his contract with the Charlotte Hornets this summer, according to reports by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
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Jefferson’s reasoning for not opting out is probably three-fold. He talked about having unfinished business and not wanting to leave bad tastes in everyone’s mouths, but there are business reasons why he would not opt out now.
First, Jefferson did not have the stellar season that he needed this year. Part of that has been his injuries. Jefferson missed seventeen games with injuries, and potential suitors would be wary to offer bigger money to Jefferson when he may not be on the court consistently. Jefferson also admitted to being overweight.
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Second, Jefferson and just about everyone else knows that the NBA is about to have a huge increase in the salary cap next year. Most likely any deal that he signed this year would have tied him up to miss the cap increase and therefore not make as much money as possible.
Playing through next year allows Jefferson to lose weight, play healthy an entire season, and hopefully be instrumental to more team success for the Charlotte Hornets. All of those things would allow him to be best positioned for the free agent class of 2016.
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For the Hornets, having Jefferson come back gives them another year to play with the formula. Jefferson was signed two years ago with promises that he would be the key offensive piece. That will not change next year since the Hornets are likely to bring everybody back.
The Hornets will also be adding a lottery pick again. So next month we will all turn our heads to Secaucus, New Jersey to witness the lottery draft order. Then we can start speculating who the next Hornet piece will be.