Payton Ponders NBA Ffuture

Oakland native Gary Payton, unsigned for 2007-08 after playing last season with the Miami Heat, will make a decision about his future within the next week, his agent said Friday.

And one option he might consider would be to try to play an 18th and final NBA season with the hometown Golden State Warriors.

Aaron Goodwin said Payton is training to stay in shape, but he has not settled on which direction to take his career.

"He's deciding if he's going to take another crack at playing one more season, or maybe go to Seattle and work in some sort of management position, or go into TV color commentary," Goodwin said.

Payton, who turned 39 this summer, was not available for comment.

Goodwin said there have been no talks yet with potential teams, including the Warriors.
"He definitely has thoughts of going backfrom Sports 1 and giving it one more shot in Miami," Goodwin said. "If that didn't work, he'd like to play for a West Coast team, the Warriors being one of them. It'd be great to retire in Oakland."

The Warriors currently have no roster room, with the maximum 15 players signed to guaranteed contracts headed into training camp next month.

Payton, a nine-time NBA All-Star point guard and one of the league's greatest defensive players during his prime, grew up in Oakland and starred at Skyline High.

Payton played the past two seasons with the Heat, winning his first NBA championship in 2006. But his playing time dwindled last season, when he averaged just 5.3 points and 3.0 assists, both career-low numbers.

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source : insidebayarea.com