Despite the fact that San Antonio Spurs big man Tim Duncan lost a whopping $25 million in bad investment deals, the five-time NBA champion is still not sure he’ll re-sign with his team next year and remain in the league.
Duncan reported recently that he lost the $25 million over an eight-year span to a shady financial adviser. Still, even with the big deficit, he says that he is satisfied with the many millions he still has and that money problems won’t drive him back onto the hardwood for the Spurs.
“Luckily I had a long career and made good money,” the 39-year-old Duncan told Bloomberg Business. “This is a big chunk, but it’s not going to change my life in any way. It’s not going to make any decisions for me.”
Earlier this year Duncan filed suit against former adviser Charles Banks, accusing him of steering him into investments even though the adviser had serious conflicts of interest which eventually caused massive losses.
Duncan charges that his losses occurred between 2005 and 2013 and that Banks didn’t reveal he was financially tied to the investments he recommended to the player.
Banks claims that the lawsuit is unwarranted.
Duncan told the media that for several years early in his career he “kept an eye” on those handling his money but at some point he became complacent over the job they were doing and he stopped checking up on them.
Because of the heavy loss of money, though, Duncan said he now wants to help train young people on how to avoid the pitfalls he fell into.
Even with that goal in mind, Duncan added, “I’m not going to go on a circuit trying to warn people.” Even though he doesn’t want to become a speaker on the topic he would like to figure out some way to help others learn good financial practices.
Duncan, who averaged 13.9 points and 9.1 rebounds this season, has made over $200 million in his NBA career thus far and the $25 million loss is around 15 percent of his after-taxes income.
The Wake Forest graduate has spent his entire 18-year NBA career in San Antonio and figures he’ll end his career with the team.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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