Written by Demetri Inembolidis

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This must be the official Retirement Day of Cleveland Sports.  Shortly after Omar Vizquel announced his impending retirement, former Cavalier great Anthony Parker announced his.  To be fair, it was an unofficial retirement in January when he shot 34.7% in fifteen games in the month of January. 

Parker was signed as a free agent on July 13, 2009.  Parker was brought in to add length to the perimeter and to match up better with the Orlando Magic.  In his first season with the Cavs, the 34 year old scored 7.3 PPG in 81 games.  He was a consistent presence at the shooting guard position during the period when Delonte West had his biggest personal struggles.  Parker signed with the Cavs to presumably come off the bench and he found himself starting all but one game. 

Things took a turn for the worse in his second season with the Cavs.  The departure of LeBron James and age caught up to the veteran and he shot 39.9% from the floor.  Parker was a free agent after the 2010-2011 season ane general manager Chris Grant made it a priority to re-sign the veteran to a one year deal.  In his last year with the Cavs, Parker rebounded on his shooting percentage and scored 7.2 PPG on 43.3%. 

Anthony Parker will retire with a career average of 9.1 PPG.  He played 494 regular season games in the NBA.  Parker was drafted 21st overall by the New Jersey Nets in 1997.  He played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Quad City Thunder of the CBA, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Lottomatica Roma, Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers.  Parker was a three time Euroleague champion and a 2 time Euroleague MVP. 

Anthony Parker made his announcement in an email.  "I wanted to make that decision after the season and make sure that is what I wanted to do.  I'm at peace with it and excited for whatever the future has for me," said Parker.

The question now is who will lead the Cavs to a 31.8% winning percentage.  Hopefully Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson picked up a thing or two from Parker's veteran leadership.