Al Jefferson Stays With Hornets, Secures Big 2016-17 Contract
Business SportsMoney
Blake Oestriecher
Al Jefferson is returning to the Charlotte Hornets for the 2015-16 season, but does his return mean that he really has bigger plans in mind?
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All NBA teams looking to add a quality big man in free agency will have to wait another year for a chance of luring Hornets center Al Jefferson away from Charlotte.

According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, Jefferson will not opt out of the final year of his contract, instead choosing to remain with the Hornets for the final year of the three-year deal that he signed with the team prior to the 2013-14 season. By agreeing to re-up with Charlotte for one more year, Jefferson has assured himself a $13.5 million payday for the 2015-16 season.

While Jefferson all but promised that he’d be back in Charlotte for next season to complete some “unfinished business,” perhaps that isn’t his only reasoning behind his return to the Hornets.

Sure, Jefferson might be thinking that he helped lead Charlotte (then the Bobcats) to a surprising playoff berth in the 2013-14 season—and that he could do it again. Or he could be pulling a page out of LeBron James’ playbook.

James shocked the world last offseason when he signed just a two-year deal to return to his beloved Cleveland Cavaliers. This, of course, led to instant speculation that James might bolt if his return to the Cavs didn’t go as smoothly as planned. But James is one of the NBA’s most savvy businessmen, and this turned out to be purely a business decision.

The NBA salary cap is expected to jump to a whopping $89 million for the 2016-17 season thanks to the league’s lucrative new television contract. That’s a $22-million increase from the NBA’s current salary cap, which is expected to climb yet again to an astounding $108 million for the following season.

And Jefferson, like James and countless other NBA stars, is undoubtedly looking to cash in by becoming a free agent next offseason when NBA teams will have more money to spend than ever.

Jefferson, though not a player who has ever really been considered one of the league’s top superstars, has put up very good numbers throughout most of his career. He hasn’t averaged fewer than 16 points or 8.4 rebounds per game since way back in the 2005-06 season, and in his first season with Charlotte in 2013-14, he averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game on his way to being named a member of the All-NBA third-team.

Thus, the logic behind Jefferson’s return to Charlotte is this: If he can rebound from a somewhat disappointing 2014-15 season and put up 20 points and 10 rebounds per game next season, that’s going to earn him one last massive contract, whether it be in Charlotte or somewhere else.

With the upcoming dramatic spike in the NBA’s salary cap, superstars who are breaking the bank now are going to be raking in even more millions in the coming years. Similarly, players who are currently making $8-10 million per year primarily to serve in one role—as rebounders, defensive enforcers, or three-point specialists—are going to be making $12-13 million to do the exact same things that they do now.

Jefferson will be 31 years old next summer when the free agency spending spree begins, but lack of defense aside, he isn’t a one-trick pony. If he can stay healthy—which is a big if considering that he’s only played 82 games in two out of 11 career seasons—then he’s a double-double waiting to happen, and it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that he’ll sign one last hefty contract for $15 million-plus a year.

Bank on it. After all, Jefferson’s return to Charlotte certainly says that he is.