Paul Pierce plans to return to Los Angeles Clippers for 19th NBA season
Paul Pierce endured a dismal 2015-16 season, but he reportedly plans to return to the Los Angeles Clippers for his 19th NBA season.
The Paul Pierce-Doc Rivers reunion clearly did not go as planned last season. The Los Angeles Clippers had another early playoff exit, and “The Truth” averaged a career-low 6.1 points while shooting just over 36 percent from the floor and 31 percent from 3-point range.
Pierce acknowledged he didn’t want to make an emotional decision immediately after the Clippers’ season was over, and reports have varied since then about his plans for 2016-17. But Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Daily News has reported Pierce is planning to return for his 19th NBA season.
The Clippers re-signed Wesley Johnson and Luke Mbah a Moute while also adding Alan Anderson in free agency, so they have plenty of small forward depth. The soon-to-be 39-year-old Pierce is best-suited to a minimal role anyway, but at this point he may be hard-pressed to even match last year’s career-low 18.1 minutes per game next season.
Pierce spent the first 15 seasons of his career with the Boston Celtics, after being drafted 10th overall out of Kansas in 1998. He earned 10 All-Star selections over that time, and won a championship in 2008 as a member of what could be considered the original “Big Three” with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
Pierce has clearly not been the same player over the last few seasons with the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and the Clippers. But that does not diminish his Hall of Fame-worthiness, and anything he does from here on out won’t diminish that either.
Pierce doesn’t come off as someone who would hang around purely to chase statistical landmarks. But he is currently 16th in NBA history in points scored, and even another season like 2015-16 would be in line to put him 12th on that list.
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Playing this season, and then coming back again for an even more rare 20th season, could allow Pierce to finish as a top-10 scorer in league history. Even with clearly diminished skills, Pierce’s pursuit of legendary status would grab attention.
It’s hard to watch all-time greats not live up to the high standard they’ve set, and it’s clear Pierce strongly considered retiring this summer. A 19th NBA season could well be his last, all things considered.
Pierce’s $3.6 million salary for 2017-18 is not guaranteed, so this coming season is essentially the final year of his contract. But if he’s healthy enough around a year from now, a mutual decision for Pierce to fulfill his three-year deal with the Clippers is a possibility.