As expected this summer, Jason Terry left the Dallas Mavericks via free agency and decided to sign with the Boston Celtics after playing eight seasons as a key member of the Mavericks success.
Terry’s exit came as a surprise to no one, but some recent comments he made about his value to the franchise are raising some eyebrows, specifically Terry’s belief the Mavs should retire his #31 jersey:
“What we did in my eight-year career here in Dallas, I’ll never forget it,” Terry said to the Star-Ledger. “I grew not only as a basketball player, but as a person, as a father.”
“The bow was winning the championship, but the icing on the cake will be putting that jersey up in the rafters,” Terry said. “If it happens, I’ll be grateful.”
To his credit, Terry was indeed an integral part of the Mavs team, averaging 16.1 ppg and 4.1 apg mainly as one of the top sixth men in the league over the past decade. But does that warrant retiring his jersey? I would say no.
Retiring a player’s jersey is as much about loyalty to the franchise as it is about value on the court. Considering that Terry waited all of a month before he tattoo’d the Celtics leprechaun on his arm, we already know that he is more of a gun for hire than loyal to one franchise.
For starters, let’s just say Terry should be concentrating more now on helping his new team contend for a championship and let the Mavericks plans to honor his value run their course after his retirement.
-ALR
