Shareef Considering Retirement, Coaching Career

Shareef Abdur-Rahim, second from the right, says he'll decide if he'll participate in the

Sacramneto Kings' training camp after coming home from a trip South Africa for the NBA.

(From left to right) Milwaukee Bucks' Charlie Bell, San Antonio Spurs' Matt Bonner,
Abdur- Rahim,and Washington Wizards' Caron Butler.

The last time Sacramento Kings' power forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim was heard from before going on the NBA's Basketball Without Borders trip to South Africa, he was practicing with their summer league team in Las Vegas. At the time, he was not doing well. Now that he's home, retirement looks more of a possibility than ever for the 31 year old.

Shareef is due $12.8 million over the next 2 seasons and has an early-termination option in 2009. The Kings, however have insurance on him so they won't have to pay him anything unless he plays for another team. According to Amick, he and the Kings have discussed the possibility of him becoming their big man coach.

The Kings were supposedly looking for a big man coach over the summer to develop the young bigs like sophomore center Spencer Hawes, rookie power forward Jason Thompson and third year power forward Shelden Williams. A good coach would do them well, and Shareef, a former All-Star in 2000, might be a good fit for them. He was one of the best power forwards in the NBA the first 8 years of his career. Right now, the playing part of his NBA career seems to be over.

Shareef was drafted #3 by the Vancouver Grizzlies where he played his best for 5 years, setting franchise records with 23 PPG in 1999 and 10.1 RPG in 2000. He was the by far the best player the Grizzlies franchise has ever had. He also won a gold medal for the men's USA Basketball Team in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

The Grizzlies traded him for to the Atlanta Hawks rookie Pau Gasol in 2001 where he played for two and a half seasons before getting traded for Rasheed Wallace, who only played one game for the Hawks before getting traded to the Detroit Pistons. Portland was the only place Shareef wore a different number than #3. He wore #33 there.

After 2 years in Portland, and not one playoff appearance with any team, Shareef was to be signed-and-traded to New Jersey for a first round pick, which Portland planned to trade for the Phoenix Suns' Leandro Barbosa. He failed the physical, putting the trade on hold, but he decided to go into free agency, signing with the Kings.

During his time in Sacramento, he broke his jaw and had it wired shut. Expected to be out for a significant amount of time, he came back early and played, with his jaw wired shut. He made his first and only playoff appearance against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in the first round. Although they tied the series after being down 2-0, the Kings lost the series 4-2. In the 06-07 season, Shareef averaged career lows of 9.9 PPG and 5 RPG missing the playoffs. The next season, two knee surgeries limited him to 6 games out of the whole year.

If his career is over, he would have missed the playoffs 11 out of 12 seasons. Even so, his resumé includes a gold medal, an All-Star appearance, and 1996-97 NBA All-Rookie First Team. In college, he was the first freshman to win the PAC 10 Player of the Year Award at California. Not to mention, his extensive involvement in the community that extends from Sacramento, to New Orleans, to Atlanta and now, Africa.

Shareef was and still is a great ambassador for the NBA. His contributions on and off the court touched millions of people. He will not be forgotten.