He wants to stay connected to basketball, from a TV studio, a bench, or an office high above the court.
Right now, though, Matt Bonner believes he still has something left in the tank, so he’s in a holding pattern while the NBA’s free agent season, which began at midnight, unfolds and he figures out who, if anyone, wants him.
His preference is to rejoin the San Antonio Spurs, his team for the past 10 seasons. But Bonner is a Concord boy, born and schooled here, so playing for the Boston Celtics would be a great way to end the show. The end, he knows, is near.
“I grew up bleeding green, a diehard Celtics fan,” Bonner said Thursday, during his annual summer camp at Rundlett Middle School. “So at the end of my career to go back home and finish for the Celtics would be a storybook ending.”
He wore a blue “Straight Outta Concord” T-shirt and taught the game to dozens of kids, sitting two deep around the court.
Bonner was joined by Kelly Olynyk of the Celtics and Bonner’s brother, Luke Bonner, who played pro ball in Europe. Matt is 6-foot-10, the other two 7 feet, creating a trio of giants at center court. They looked even taller surrounded by school kids.
And while Olynyk is under contract with the Celtics for next season, Bonner’s future in the NBA is no slam dunk.
Not at age 35. Not after playing in just 30 games last season, in part because of a strained calf. And not after averaging just seven minutes, 1 rebound and 2.5 points per game, all career lows.
His long-range shooting percentages were good, and that skill is the reason Bonner has earned nearly $30 million in the NBA since graduating from the University of Florida 13 years ago.
But the big redhead, who’s won two NBA championships with San Antonio, once had a regular spot in the Spurs rotation, and his best season was seven years ago, an eternity in professional basketball.
Still, as any local hoops fan knows, Bonner was born with a basketball in his soul. He wore out Concord’s hardwood courts and nylon nets by pushing himself beyond belief, and I saw him practice 3-point field goals in Toronto, as a member of the Raptors, while his teammates were enjoying the night life.
“This is the greatest job in the world,” Bonner said. “Being a basketball junkie and with my love for the game, it’s the greatest job I could possibly have.”
For now, Bonner will play the waiting game. At midnight, teams were allowed to negotiate with free agents, who will command more money than ever next season because the league’s new TV contract will kick in, increasing the overall revenue pile and upping team salary caps.
Bonner’s future is tied to meetings this weekend in the Hamptons, on Long Island, N.Y., where six teams – including the Celtics – will wave their checkbooks at free agent Kevin Durant, who reportedly met with his team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he’s played since 2008, Thursday night.
Once Durant signs his new deal, the salary structure for next season will gain clarity, allowing others to sign in a domino effect. Bonner joked Thursday that his phone would be “ringing off the hook” at midnight.
Once, back in the late 1990s, Florida coach Billy Donovan, who coached Durant last season in Oklahoma City, did, indeed, knock on Bonner’s door at 12:01 a.m., at the official start of the college recruiting season.
Nowadays, of course, Bonner is less in demand. “Honestly, I haven’t heard anything,” he said. “With San Antonio there are probably other priorities on the roster that they have to figure out first before they get down to someone like me. My ideal perfect world would be to go back and play for San Antonio for another year, but who knows if that will happen?”
“Talk to me next week and I’ll have a better idea of what is going on. You can talk to teams and I’ll have more of a feel by then.”
He’s got a backup plan, of course, which should surprise no one around here, given that Bonner was at the top of his class at Concord High and an A student at Florida as well.
Recently Bonner participated in three programs offered by the National Basketball Players Association: front-office leadership, TV broadcasting and coaching.
He loved all three, but with two young kids and a wife, he thinks a career as a color analyst might give him his best chance at a balanced life, at least until his children get older.
“I’m not ruling anything out,” Bonner said. “It’s hard to know exactly what your path is until you really get thrown into the fire. But I like doing color, I like doing studio stuff, and in order to decompress myself from this grind and be around for the kids during the season, that is a better option.”
Bonner’s new life in a suit and tie, as commentator, coach, or executive, is no longer a long jump shot away. But perhaps there’s another season in his current career, wearing a uniform, his most comfortable form of clothing.
“Hopefully,” Bonner said.
(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)