Mr.Bottomtooth
10-28-2006, 06:26 PM
Brian Grant says 'it was time' to announce retirement
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Brian Grant retired from the NBA on Friday because of chronic knee problems.
Grant spent 12 seasons with the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.
"I just decided it was time to hang it up. I really wasn't able to perform over the past few years like I was the first 10 years," he said. "It was time."
He plans to eventually settle in Portland, where he has a home.
"For 12 years -- really 16 years -- you've been on a schedule where you know what's going to happen every day for the next seven months," said the 34-year-old Grant. "Now I wonder what I'm going to do the next day. So that's an adjustment."
Grant played last season for the Suns before being traded to the Celtics on draft day. He did not participate in training camp or the preseason and was waived by the team on Thursday.
Grant, who played at Xavier, was the eighth overall selection in the 1994 draft by the Kings. As a rookie, he averaged 13.2 points and 7.5 rebounds.
Over his career, Grant averaged 10.5 points and 7.4 rebounds. He averaged 10.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in the 2002-03 season.
Grant was widely recognized for his charitable efforts and in 1999 was awarded the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, an honor given annually to a player or coach for outstanding community service.
Grant partnered with Ronald McDonald House Charities, assisting seriously and terminally ill children and their families. In Los Angeles, he funded a multipurpose sports field for the South Central Los Angeles nonprofit "A Place Called Home."
In Phoenix, he worked closely with the nonprofit Vested Interest to mentor young, underprivileged men.
Grant has no immediate plans for the future, outside of spending time with his family and adjusting to life after basketball. But he would not rule out returning to the game in a new capacity in the future.
"You've got to find yourself again," he said of retirement. "You're no longer Brian Grant the basketball player. You've got to find a new identity."
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Brian Grant retired from the NBA on Friday because of chronic knee problems.
Grant spent 12 seasons with the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.
"I just decided it was time to hang it up. I really wasn't able to perform over the past few years like I was the first 10 years," he said. "It was time."
He plans to eventually settle in Portland, where he has a home.
"For 12 years -- really 16 years -- you've been on a schedule where you know what's going to happen every day for the next seven months," said the 34-year-old Grant. "Now I wonder what I'm going to do the next day. So that's an adjustment."
Grant played last season for the Suns before being traded to the Celtics on draft day. He did not participate in training camp or the preseason and was waived by the team on Thursday.
Grant, who played at Xavier, was the eighth overall selection in the 1994 draft by the Kings. As a rookie, he averaged 13.2 points and 7.5 rebounds.
Over his career, Grant averaged 10.5 points and 7.4 rebounds. He averaged 10.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in the 2002-03 season.
Grant was widely recognized for his charitable efforts and in 1999 was awarded the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, an honor given annually to a player or coach for outstanding community service.
Grant partnered with Ronald McDonald House Charities, assisting seriously and terminally ill children and their families. In Los Angeles, he funded a multipurpose sports field for the South Central Los Angeles nonprofit "A Place Called Home."
In Phoenix, he worked closely with the nonprofit Vested Interest to mentor young, underprivileged men.
Grant has no immediate plans for the future, outside of spending time with his family and adjusting to life after basketball. But he would not rule out returning to the game in a new capacity in the future.
"You've got to find yourself again," he said of retirement. "You're no longer Brian Grant the basketball player. You've got to find a new identity."
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press