The indication of Al Harrington trying to get a buyout for his contract from the Orlando Magic is sending very minor waves around the league, and still, there is a slight interest in the veteran power forward, with the Indiana Pacers (a former team) and the Los Angeles Clippers possibly looking to add him to the team.
Harrington, 33, has been working hard to bring himself back to satisfactory shape next season, losing 27 points in order to relieve the weight and pressure on his knee, as he played only 10 games last season for the Orlando Magic, averaging 5.1 points in 11.9 minutes a night.
He’s under contract with the Magic, with two years and $14.8 million left on it. However, with about half of it guaranteed, the Orlando Magic are likely to let go of the 6’9 forward who has been playing more and more as somewhat of a stretch center in recent years.
If Harrington does hit free agency, he doesn’t plan on playing for anyone but a contending team. Just like Marcus Camby and Mike Miller “warned” the worse teams in the league about approaching them, Harrington is showing no indication he wants to be on a team that’s going nowhere this season.
I want to win, so I’ll put it like this: I want to go to a situation where I can compete to make the playoffs. I’m too old to play for nothing.
Considering the fact that Harrington averaged 14.2 points per game coming off the bench for the Denver Nuggets in 2011-2012, a healthy version of him should still be a very productive scorer, regardless of the limited minuted he’ll be getting. Both the Pacers and the Clippers need some firepower off the bench instead of rebounding and defense, which they seem to have plenty of at the moment.
Harrington has been in the NBA since 1998, skipping college and coming in straight out of high school. He has a career average of 13.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.