5 NBA Players Who Should Retire and Hang 'Em Up for Good

As the NBA season gets going, there will be plenty of player movement as teams sign and trade players galore.

However, there are a few players that might be better off hanging them up for good.

While it's hard to turn away millions at the twilight of your career, sometimes the physical pain and lack of success just aren't worth it.

Unfortunately, most of these guys will keep playing for their teams or will try to play for a new team.

However, if they were wise, they would strongly consider putting their basketball days behind them.

Here are the top five candidates for retirement.

5. Etan Thomas

As one of the smarter players in the game, Thomas makes for a good locker room guy for any team.

However, through injury and lack of efficiency, Thomas just doesn’t produce like he used to.

While I’d still take him over some players because of his intangibles, he could easily provide those as an assistant coach.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Hawks re-sign him this year because if not, he may consider ending his career.

4. Raja Bell

This time last year a lot of teams were taking a good look at Raja Bell and his ability to provide solid minutes.

This year it seems as though many teams are breathing a sigh of relief that they avoided signing Bell. While it’s very doubtful that Bell will retire, as he’s set to earn upwards of $6 million over the next two years, in an ideal world, he should consider it.

He averaged over 30 minutes a game last season on a struggling Jazz team, but I don’t expect the team to give him that much time this year.

3. Juwan Howard

Juwan Howard is one of the oldest players in the game and it shows.

At the age of 38, Howard has very little left to contribute to any NBA team.

While he is still a big body and might be nice to throw at a guy like Dwight Howard for a few minutes, he is really limited by his athleticism.

I’m not so sure he’s ready to go just yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this was his last year.

2. Michael Redd

As much as I would like to think that Michael Redd has a few good years left, I continue to be disappointed.

It’s hardly his fault as he has just suffered some really ugly injuries; however, there comes a time when you must be honest with yourself.

I don’t see the Bucks trying to keep Redd around, and that means that another team will consider taking a risk on the shooter.

Don’t be surprised to see teams wary of the injury-plagued player as he may be forced to retire from a lack of interest. Most likely he’ll get one more chance, but if his injury woes continue, he could be gone for good.

1. Luke Walton

As sad as it is for Lakers fans, almost everyone knows that Luke’s time is almost up.

It certainly isn’t for lack of skill, as Luke has always been one of the smarter players in the game and a great asset when he is on the floor.

The problem is he can’t ever stay healthy enough to really impact the team.

It’s sad to see a good guy like Walton go through such a hard time, but in the end there just isn’t much you can do. This is a sport that requires a lot of physical hardship and some players just can’t handle it.

Hopefully, Luke will help out the Lakers and retire. If he does, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him become a great coach in the near future.