Veteran Oklahoma City Thunder reserve forward Nick Collison is at an age (35) at which he’s starting to think about life after active duty on the court.
Former Kansas University standout Collison, who is in his 13th year with the same franchise — the Seattle SuperSonics, who took him 12th in the 2003 Draft, moved to OKC in 2008 — obviously is set for life with career earnings estimated at $50 million.
He followed his last four-year, $11 million deal with a two-year, $7,500,000 contract that expires after next season.
“I’ve thought about it a lot,” Collison told the NBA Players Association website Tuesday, referring to coaching one day or staying with the Thunder in another capacity.
“A lot of it is going to be with my personal life. I have a daughter (Emma); she’s 10. It’s hard to just jump back into it. So we’ll see. I think I’d be good at doing something in the game, and I know that I’m going to have to do something with the rest of my life. It’s going to be more of the right decision for my kid and for me and my personal life. If I only had to worry about myself, I think I would jump into something. I think a lot about it. I’ll feel it out when the time comes.”
The NBPA points out “only a few active players in the league have been with one organization at least as long as Collison.” They are: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas; Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, Miami; and Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, San Antonio.
“I like to think I’ve been a pro and do things the right way,” Collison told NBPA. He was cited as a great example for current Thunder bigs Steven Adams, Enes Kanter and Serge Ibaka. “I do them that way because I think it helps me in my career. I think I’ve been a good example. And as I’ve shifted to become more of a veteran player, I’ve really tried to help younger guys, and that’s what I do more of now than anything else. And it’s been fun to do that. I think I want to always be like an authentic teammate–really try to do whatever I can to help guys out, help the team out. It’s just the way that I’ve been taught to be part of a basketball team. And I think it’s helped me in my career being helpful, being a good teammate. It’s allowed me to last this long.”
Collison hopes to earn his first NBA championship ring this postseason. OKC is tied 1-1 in a best-of-seven conference final vs. Golden State as the series moves to Oklahoma for Game Three on Sunday.
“We’ve gotten better as the playoffs have gone on this year, and that was similar to 2012 (when team reached Finals),” Collison said. “I felt like we grew as the series went on, and I’m feeling that now even better. Both teams had a lot of young guys. This team is a little better equipped for it though I think just in terms of our experience. We’ve had a lot of things thrown at us, and we’re able to realize that the most important thing is just to play the next play, because it’s a rollercoaster and we’ve dealt with it before.”
To read the NBPA story on Collison, go to bit.ly/25cWQ02
Bolden selects Duke: Marques Bolden, a 6-foot-10 senior forward from DeSoto (Texas) High School, on Thursday announced for Duke. He chose the Blue Devils over runner-up Kentucky.
Bolden, who is ranked No. 11 nationally by Rivals.com, will play against KU in the Champions Classic on Nov. 15 in New York. Duke has also added No. 2 Harry Giles, No. 3 Jayson Tatum, No. 12 Frank Jackson, No. 39 Javin DeLaurier and unranked Jack White. Duke also returns forwards Amile Jefferson and Chase Jeter and guards Grayson Allen, Luke Kennard and Matt Jones. KU is bringing in No. 1 Josh Jackson, No. 31 Udoka Azubuike and No. 107 Mitch Lightfoot.
“We have a chance to be really special next year with who returns and who is coming in,” Bolden told ESPN.com.
KU is awaiting the announcement of Jarrett Allen, a 6-9 senior forward from St. Stephens Episcopal in Austin, Texas, who is expected to choose KU, Texas or Houston any day now. Recruiting analysts this week cite Texas as the heavy favorite. KU also is awaiting word from Derryck Thornton, a 6-2 point guard who has left Duke after one season. He will attend KU, USC, Miami or Washington.
Tech lands grad transfer: New Texas Tech coach Chris Beard has landed immediate help in graduate transfer Anthony Livingston, a 6-8, 230-pound forward from Arkansas State who averaged 15.5 points and 9.4 rebounds a year ago. He had 22 rebounds in a game against Arkansas-Little Rock.
This, that: Future KU forward Evan Maxwell, a 6-10 sophomore out of Liberty University, isn’t the only Flames player to transfer to a college basketball blueblood. Seth Curry transferred from Liberty to Duke back in 2009. … Former KU forward Perry Ellis will be updating fans on his pre-draft workouts at the Website sqor.com.