Paul Pierce will be wearing a different jersey for the first time in his career next season, and the Boston Celtics are entering a new era.
Boston finalized a trade sending Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets. Pierce had been with the Celtics for 15 years, scoring 24,021 points with the franchise. He was as connected to the Boston Celtics franchise and fans as any player since Larry Bird.
For Celtics president Danny Ainge, it’s a bold move, and one the Celtics traditionally haven’t made. The team has stuck by its aging stars, allowing them to finish out carers in Boston. Ainge found this out the hard way in the 1980s when he urged then-president Red Auerbach to trade away Bird and Kevin McHale for the cadre of young stars being offered. Auerbach instead traded Ainge a few months later.
But in trading Paul Pierce, Ainge proved he is willing to make the difficult moves, even if they’re not in the tradition of the franchise. In dealing Garnett, Pierce, and Jason Terry the team received three first-round picks (in 2014, 2016 and 2018) and a large group of throw-in players, including Kris Humphries and his $12 million contract.
The departure of Paul Pierce wasn’t too big a surprise, however. Veteran Celtics reporter Greg Dickerson predicted last month that Pierce would be departing the Celtics .
“I don’t think they will (bring Pierce back),” Dickerson said on CSNNE. “And I know that the company that Paul Pierce hangs around in, they do not believe – and I don’t think Paul Pierce believes – that he is going to be brought back next year at $15 million. I know for a fact that people around Paul Pierce have pretty much resigned themselves to the fact that he’s played his final game in a Boston Celtics uniform. Again, Paul wants to stay – obviously for $15 million, but he wants to finish his career in a Celtics uniform.”
Paul Pierce may not be in a Boston Celtics jersey anymore, but the Boston faithful will get a hefty dose of him next season. The Nets will visit twice in the 2013-14 season.
