Jason Richardson To Retire

10:26pm: Richardson had experienced pain in his right knee four to five days ago and then had an MRI that revealed bone spurs, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter links). The guard made his decision on Tuesday after deliberating for six hours, and he informed Hawks coach/executive Mike Budenholzer earlier today of his choice, Spears adds. Richardson, who already has issues with his left knee, feared that his ability to walk would be impaired for the rest of his life, which played a major factor in his decision, Spears tweets.

8:41pm: Veteran NBA shooting guard Jason Richardson has decided to call it a career, and has announced his retirement via his personal Instagram account. In his announcement, Richardson writes, “Today is a bitter sweet moment for me. I’m officially announcing my retirement from pro basketball. I like to thank the organizations and fans in Charlotte, Phoenix, Orlando, Philly and especially The Bay Area for their loyal support the past 14 years. Walking away was the hardest decision I had to make but choosing my health and spending time with my family is more important to me! God bless!” There has been no statement released by the Hawks as of yet regarding Richardson’s retirement.

The 34-year-old had signed a one-year, non-guaranteed deal with the Hawks for the league minimum back in August. While Richardson was once one of the more dynamic scorers in the league, various injuries derailed his career the past few seasons, limiting him to appearing in an average of just 26.5 games per year since the 2011/12 season. His retirement reduces Atlanta’s preseason roster count to 18 players.

Richardson had appeared in 19 contests for the Sixers last season, averaging 9.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 21.9 minutes per games. He also played for Warriors, Hornets, Suns, and Magic during the course of his career. Richardson’s career numbers through 13 NBA campaigns are 17.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 2.7 RPG to go along with a slash line of .438/.370/.707.

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