Paul Pierce has plans in place to retire with Boston Celtics
By Tom West
Paul Pierce is still undecided on whether he’ll retire this summer, but Doc Rivers has said plans are in place for Pierce to retire as a member of the Boston Celtics.
The 1990s NBA legends are rapidly dwindling. Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, two players who could both be top-10 of all-time for many, have retired, and others may be following soon. Both Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are considering retirement this summer, Vince Carter only has one year left under contract, and Dirk Nowitzki, fresh off a new two-year, $50 million deal, can’t keep going forever at 38.
We haven’t heard much about Garnett lately, who will currently be torn between enjoying a stress-free retirement or making one final run with the improved Minnesota Timberwolves and their potential for a stealthy playoff appearance.
As for Pierce, we’ve heard plenty. A couple of reports have said that he’s leaning towards playing next season, but Doc Rivers said on Adrian Wojnarowski’s podcast for The Vertical this week that Pierce’s mind is still undecided.
However, one certainty is that it’s been arranged for Pierce to retire with the Celtics when he does call it quits:
"“If Paul decides to retire, then we’re going to make sure that Boston picks him up for one day and he retires a Celtic, because that’s what he should retire as. So we have all that in place. We just don’t know what he’s going to do.I think Paul’s going back and forth on it, and I want to give him room. I think he deserves it. From a team perspective, you would love that he made his decision eight weeks ago. I think there are certain guys that you just have to give time to, and Paul’s one of them.”"
It’s perfectly apt that Paul Pierce retires with the Celtics. It really couldn’t happen any other way. The Truth belongs in Boston, in the place he scored 24,021 of his 26,316 career points, played 15 of his 18 seasons (so far), and won his only championship and Finals MVP in 2008. It goes without saying that retiring in Brooklyn, Washington or Los Angeles would be wrong.
The real question is whether he should retire now.
It seems as though both nostalgic Celtics fans and Pierce himself want one more year of action, but there’s no way to deny that he was terrible for the Clippers last season. Shooting a career-low 36.3 percent from the floor and 31 percent from three, playing as a complete liability at both ends of the floor thanks to his inefficiency and diminished defense and lumbering speed, Pierce didn’t provide many Truth-like moments.
We’ll have to wait and see what he decides, but regardless of his decision and regardless of his performance, it will be a sad day when he signs that final one-day contract with the Celtics and another ’90s legend walks off into the sunset.
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