Maggette's future with Clippers is uncertain
The small forward, who is having his best year, may test the free agent market
His choice, his destiny, his future -- Corey Maggette, finally and firmly, controls them all.
Maggette, 28, a hardscrabble small forward capable of getting to the rim and the foul line frequently, is the longest-tenured player on the Clippers. But the signs are that he will opt out of the final season of his six-year, $42-million contract after this season, to test the free agent market.
So, is Maggette coming or going?
"I've been here the longest out of any player on our team, and every time I see the good, the bad, the ugly," he said. "There's going to be a good day, and if I'm here when that happens, I would love to be here."
Maggette has played on only one winning team in his eight seasons as a Clipper. Slowly, but surely, he is watching another individually solid season slip by the wayside.
This season he is averaging a team-high 22.4 points, better than his previous career high of 22.2 points, plus 5.7 rebounds per game. Top that off with a 38.3% shooting average from the three-point line -- another career high -- and this is one of his best years.
Last summer Maggette declined a three-year, $25.5-million extension by the Clippers. His agent, Rob Pelinka, also represents Kobe Bryant.
But Clippers owner Donald T. Sterling and Vice President of Basketball Operations Elgin Baylor have repeatedly stated their desire to keep Maggette, both crediting him for his hard play.
That workmanlike-mentality was grounded early, said Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, who coached the Magic nine years ago when Maggette was a rookie. "I remember early on, Corey just felt that because he was a high draft pick, that he was going to play and he didn't," Rivers said. "He went from that to being one of the hardest workers in our practices, and I think that's where he's changed."
Alvin Gentry, now a Suns assistant, became the beneficiary of that effort as the Clippers head coach when Maggette blossomed. "The one thing about Corey is, you are never going to have to talk to him about playing hard," Gentry said. "He plays as hard as anyone in the league."
Five years ago Maggette almost left the Clippers. He signed a Utah Jazz offer sheet, only to be yanked back when the Clippers matched it. And he has been dogged by trade speculation ever since.
