LA Clippers Veteran Makes Candid Statement on Eventual NBA Retirement

LA Clippers forward P.J. Tucker is nearing the end of his NBA career. A 13-year veteran, Tucker won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021.

Traded to the Clippers from the Philadelphia 76ers last season in the James Harden trade, Tucker was given an opportunity in Ty Lue’s rotation, but quickly found himself without a consistent role.

In 28 appearances for the Clippers last season, Tucker made just 16 total field goals on 45 attempts (35.6 percent). While he was not on the court for his scoring, Tucker’s defensive ability was very matchup dependent. This led to several DNPs, which the veteran forward was very vocally displeased with.

After exercising his $11.5M player option for next season, Tucker is entering the final year of his contract. Despite this, the veteran forward does not have any imminent retirement plans.

"Once I'm done and hang it up, I want to be done"

🔊 P.J. Tucker tells @RickKamlaSports and @adaniels33 how long he might want to keep playing. pic.twitter.com/Q7xsMMK35i
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) August 12, 2024

“I'm gonna let my body tell me," Tucker said on SiriusXM NBA Radio. "I've been blessed enough to be healthy pretty much my entire career. So I still feel pretty good... Once my body tells me, I think I'll do it. A lot of guys I played with, some of them retired too early and tried to make comebacks... I don't want to be one of those guys. Once I'm done and I hang it up, I wan't to be done.

As previously mentioned, Tucker was not happy with his limited role in LA. Prior to the All-Star break, Tucker and Bones Hyland were sent home from the team for what head coach Ty Lue described as a reset for the two players after they were not moved at the trade deadline.

Asked Ty Lue if the Clippers having a set rotation right now makes the Bones Hyland and P.J. Tucker situations more difficult.

Lue: “Yeah, we have a set rotation… We’ve finally got it figured out… It’s been good for us. It’s not something we want to change right now.” pic.twitter.com/HEfl1K6x58
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) February 14, 2024

It is possible both Hyland and Tucker could be sent elsewhere before next season begins, but finding a team to take Tucker’s $11.5M salary will be challenging - even as an expiring deal.

As for Tucker’s retirement plans, the 39-year-old is going to listen to his body.

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