How Much Longer Will Paul Pierce Be In Boston?

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With the Celtics heading towards the lottery, this young team still has plenty of potential. However, its obvious Paul Pierce wants to win now. He's almost 30 years old, he's not as exploive as in past years and his body is succumbing to the beating he's been taking over his 9 years in the league. I think its obvious that Paul loves Boston. He loves being a Celtic. If he didn't, he wouldn't have re-signed with the C's or extended his contract. He wouldn't be playing through injuries. He would of asked for a trade by now.

He's one of the leagues best players, a do it all type, a definite favorite of mine ever since I first saw him play. In fact, I'm wearing a Paul Pierce jersey right now. I'm no Celtic fan, but I would hate to see him leave Boston. It wouldn't seem right. I wanna see Paul Pierce have fun in Boston, I wanna see Paul Pierce win in Boston. Paul has been great to the Celtics franchise - averaging 23/7/4 and almost 2 steals over his career. He's never played on any other team, always stayed loyal to Boston. Problem is, Boston hasn't been so great back to him. Who have they put beside Paul to help this team win? Antoine Walker - he was very impressive during his Celtic days, but he was gone by the time Paul really began taking over. Ricky Davis? Ron Mercer? Kenny Anderson? Eric Williams? An aging Gary Payton?

Since the 02-03 season - 4 seasons ago, Paul Pierce hasn't had a supporting cast to speak of bar Ricky Davis and Gary Payton. Payton was old, nothing compared to his former self and Ricky Davis wasn't exactly the "2" in the Celtics' 1-2 punch. Since that 02-03 season, the Celtics have made the playoffs twice. Twice in this Eastern conference where a sub .500 record can get you a 7th seed. Twice since Paul Pierce had anyone other than Payton or Davis along side him. Both times they were knocked out in the first round by the Indiana Pacers. Now two playoff appearances in 4 years may not seem too bad, but it was Paul who got them there. The Celtics organization basically said, "Paul, here is Ricky Davis. Ricky has a reputation for not playing hard enough and being a selfish player. He will be your only help. Now take this team to the playoffs.". Paul did just that. Took the team to the playoffs - where they were swept. The next year, the Celtics manage to add Antoine Walker and Gary Payton. The team responds and they go to the playoffs once again, they lose in the first round, but manage to push the Pacers to 7 games this time round.

Next season, Antoine, Gary and Ricky (after a while) are gone. The next best player on the team is Wally Szczerbiak. Paul and Wally both have fine seasons (Paul: 27/7/5, Wally: 17/4/3, but what do the Celtics have outside of those two? Mark Blount and Delonte West - thats who. Mark Blount, the center grabbing less than 5 rebounds per, and Delonte, the rookie tweener new to the NBA game. The Celtics miss the playoffs.

We all know about this season. Wally has been hurt, Paul has been hurt. The Celtics are the laughing stock of the NBA. Paul has played through injuries and has still put up 25/6/4. Wally has been non existant. Al Jefferson has stepped his game up, but its not enough. The Celtics are filled with promise. I understand drafting High School stars that can become something when you have a young franchise player - LeBron for instance, but not when your franchise player is having the best seasons of his career and is nearing 30. The Celtics need to put legitimate, quality players next to Paul if they want him sticking around. The loyalty of Paul Pierce to Boston and what he is getting in return is reaching Kevin Garnett proportions.

What Boston is doing is selfish. They are chosing to build for a better future rather than win now and please the man who has kept the Celtics alive since he got there. Paul has stayed put in Boston, believing he may have the chance to win come the next season. I wonder what was going through his mind when the draft came and the Celtic went with unproven HS players rather than players who can help right away. I wonder what was going through his mind when the Celtics had legitimate shots at proven veterans like Pau Gasol and Allen Iverson, only to let them slip. I wonder what was going through his mind as the trade deadline approached and the Celtics, having a terrible season, decided not to make a move to better themselves. I wonder what is going through his mind now.

With that, I ask you, how much longer will Paul Pierce be a Celtic?

[Fitzy]

i dont think paul will be leaving any time soon, you make some really good points in there, but that may not be the real truth, obviously he wants to get a ring, but maybe he plays for money? maybe him and his family enjoy boston?
i dont think i could see him going anywhere this late in his career, if the team wants to raise up all these rookies to work with pierce in a 1-2 combination, maybe paul will end up being the 2 in a few years once maybe jefferson or gomes or even rondo develops into a core player.
its true that the celtics havent been doing him any favours as their star player, but i believe hes loyal enough to see his career out there

[Slamduncan]

I think that he won't be there any longer if the Celtics continue their current trend, but then again, Michael Redd has been with the Bucks for a while, despite when they have a losing season. So you can never really tell what they're going to do. He might end up acting like Iverson and go to a team he thinks he can win a championship with.

[Gedas]

Pierce has been carrying the Celtics year to year, it just wouldn't seem right for him to leave. Obviously Paul wants a ringt, everyone does, but I don't see it happening in any way in the upcoming seasons. Perhaps after 3-4 years, if this team sticks together, the youngsters become players, then it could be something.

There's No I in Team, But There is One in Pierce

Jackie MacMullan: Scars Linger in a Painful Season

"It's another year I don't get recognized for the things I do. I'm the classic case of a great player on a bad team, and it stinks." ...

"I want to be recognized for what I've accomplished. That may sound selfish, but I've sacrificed a lot. I want to win. That's all I want. Most great players are selfish.

"We're not on a winning team, and as long as that's true, I don't get recognized as one of the top players in the league. We're never on TV. I wasn't part of the All-Star Game [this season]. We just don't get the benefit of so many other things that winning teams get." -- 3.30.07, Paul

Pierce to Jackie MacMullan, Boston Globe

I think that this just about sums it up.

[Matt]

What Boston is doing is selfish. They are chosing to build for a better future rather than win now and please the man who has kept the Celtics alive since he got there

Boston is doing whatever is in their best interests, and at the moment that involves keeping Pierce.

[TSquared]

i think he might ask for a trade after this season of the next..

if he gets traded...where do u guys think he'll be going?

i think (possible destinations..well..from cap spaces)

joe johnson - atlanta (pretty sweet to see JJ go to boston)

gerald wallace - charlotte (or for morrison and wallace maybe with sean may? only if the celts want a younger team)

larry hughes - cleveland (but i doubt they want hughes)

that's all that i cud think of right now... im too lazy...

[JaoSming]

Both Rondo and Green have shown a lot of improvement over the season, and if not this next year the 08-09 Celtics should hopefully go deep into the playoffs (as long as Ainge doesn't fuck it up again) This is assuming that we keep Green, Rondo, Jefferson, Paul, Wally, and Perkins. Hopefully we get the first pick so we can grab Oden (if he leaves OSU), Durant would also be a good draft pick because we could trade for a good player.

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To be honest, I haven't seen much improvement. Rondo is a rookie, so he should improve quite quickly as he adjust to the NBA game before he sets his game for the rest of the season. Green IMO hasn't improved much at all from last season. He gives the Celtics 10 points, 2-3 boards and an assist each night. He shoots the lights out from downtown, but still just shoots 43% overall. He bought 5 points, 1-2 boards and close to 1 assist each night last season as a rookie straight of of high school in just 12 minutes. Right now he's looking like a 17 point, 4 board, 2 assist guywhen he begins getting quality starters minutes (~35). Thats essentially Ricky Davis, who they traded away for a currently worthless Wally. Green to me still seems 2-3 seasons away from contributing big time, and by then Paul Pierce will be around 33 years old. The Celtics may go deep in 08-09 playoffs-wise but I think that depends on Greens development (which isn't looking all that great), Al Jefferson (looking great) and Paul Pierce (if he is still around). If the Celtics grab Oden, that should speed along the develoment of this team because he is so dominant defensively and pretty damn good offensively also, not to mention the NBA's lack of good centers to bang against.

[Gedas]

AS it seems, Oden is staying in college, even though it would be very good for the Celtics to get such a player. Then the team could actually achieve something even in their first year.

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AS it seems, Oden is staying in college, even though it would be very good for the Celtics to get such a player. Then the team could actually achieve something even in their first year.

How do you gather that?

All signs point to Greg leaving. He will be the top pick garunted, went to the championship game and put on a show, Mike Conley let it slip saying "When" Oden is not at OSU next year (though he claims it was a mistake), etc. He has nothing left to do but win a national championship, but his stock simply cannot get higher.

[Christopherson]

That and rumor has it that Greg is getting some serious pressure from family to go pro. Sounds like they might want the money. Can't blame them though. If it were my kid and the options were to keep working next year for an average salary or live off of my son's millions, the decision is easy.

[Gedas]

I must have gotten the quote wrong, in that case, if they get Oden, it could be a threat even next year.

[mvpshaq32]

The same situation for Pierce applies to KG, Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, and more. KG said he would like to stay in Minnesota, but you can't see the Wolves knocking off the stacked rosters of the West. They used to be a 50 win team and now the best seed they can get is 6. The dynamic duo of Allen and Lewis. Both are capable of scoring 20-25 a night and a threat from beyond the arc. Now they are one loss away from being eliminated from playoff contention.

[beau_boy04]

If I were him, I would wait to see if Boston get either Oden or Durant, if they don't then I will try to move my ass out of Boston ASAP.

Thanks.

[Matt]

Green to me still seems 2-3 seasons away from contributing big time, and by then Paul Pierce will be around 33 years old. The Celtics may go deep in 08-09 playoffs-wise but I think that depends on Greens development (which isn't looking all that great

What Green needs though, is plenty of PT. That's the only thing that will fast track his development. He still looks much better this season than last.

[Andrew]

In this age of casting aside players when they hit 30 and players demanding trades when the going gets tough, it would show a lot of class on both sides if Pierce remains a Celtic. Ultimately both the Celtics and Pierce will do what is in their best interests but if both sides are patient and determined to make things work then why not give it a try?

Pierce may be on the plateau of his basketball prime and his game will probably begin a gradual decline in a few years as age and the physical grind of the NBA continue to take their toll but he's far from washed up. On one hand that provides Boston with an opportunity to acquire assets that will aid in a "blow it up and start over" approach to rebuilding but it also means there are still years ahead of them where Pierce should remain one of the top players in the league; his health permitting.

The Celtics have some emerging young talent in the likes of Al Jefferson, Delonte West and Gerald Green. Ryan Gomes is shaping up to be a solid role player. They won't have much in the way of cap space until the 2008 offseason though in Theo Ratliff they'll have an expiring contract worth around $12 million they can try to move before then. As it stands today they'll pick no worse than fifth in the 2007 Draft and could very well end up with the top pick.

There's hope for the future without dealing away Pierce, who would anchor a young team as a legitimate All-Star calibre player who should remain at that level for at least a few more years yet and probably contribute a few more productive seasons after that. I can see Pierce as a Reggie Miller type in that he would probably gradually take a backseat to guys like Jefferson while still remaining effective as his career winds down, assuming the Celtics can remain competitive and he's willing to stick around.

Of course, we can't rule out the possibility Pierce will seek a trade this coming offseason but I would suggest right now he's speaking out of frustration and rightfully so; it's been a difficult season for the Celtics on so many levels. I don't think he's on his way out of Boston just yet, though his patience may start to wear thin if next year doesn't see much improvement. I would assume the Celtics would start seriously entertaining offers as well.

[Matt]

someone pointed out that Boston is 20-27 with Pierce in the lineup. Not great, but somewhat decent given the youth of the team. Right now, a few of the Celtics, namely Jefferson are playing at a much superior level than at the beginning of the season. I'd say that after 47 games with Pierce next season they would win more than 20.

[scrub]

I annoys me how guys like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett just don't leave like A.I eventually did. If they crave a championship as bad as they say they do they should just go.

[Oznogrd]

I annoys me how guys like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett just don't leave like A.I eventually did. If they crave a championship as bad as they say they do they should just go.

I disagree completely with this statement. I like seeing teams and players form loyalties (since it is so rare nowadays). You would uproot your family, leave your friends, and move across country for something as trivial as a championship? Some rather work hard and stay where they're at and get a championship than pull a Mailman with the Lakers approach.

[maes]

I have a very low opinion of players jumping on another team's bandwagon for a free ride to a championship. I also think the Mailman ploy for a ring was BS.

I think people are overly worried about how "old" Pierce is, he's 30. When Jordan started his 2nd threepeat with the 72-10 season, he was 33. The league has plenty of elite guards at the top of their game at that age, Billups is 31, Nash is 33 and both have never been better. Ray Allen is 32 and has just now achieved his highest PPG and highest minutes per game.

[Sauru]

I annoys me how guys like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett just don't leave like A.I eventually did. If they crave a championship as bad as they say they do they should just go.

this is exactly what is wrong with the nba now. people who think like that are ruining the game. it annoys me that no one has loyalty anymore.

[Drex]

Iverson is a bad example for that, IMO. He was loyal for 10 years, but sometimes a change is needed, and both sides are happy now.

[Andrew]

I annoys me how guys like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett just don't leave like A.I eventually did. If they crave a championship as bad as they say they do they should just go.

I agree with illini, maes and Sauru on this one. If anything, players like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett should be commended for their loyalty and committment to turning around a bad situation, even when the front office makes questionable moves. Their reluctance to move on certainly shouldn't be considered a lack of motivation or desire to win a championship.

[Slamduncan]

Michael Redd is loyal...

[Andrew]

No one implied he wasn't.