Never forget: Celtics fans wanted Pierce gone after 2005 playoffs performance

[RJ87]

This thread has turned into some debate on the butterfly effect.

Straight up thread hijack.

[Celtics4ever]

I think comparing a guy who grew up here and a guy who may end up being a rental is comparing apples and oranges.

[SHAQATTACK]

i was a Pierce fan when he was at Kansas , crossing my fingers he d be a Celtics one day One of only three picks to come true .   Bias ended poorly ....but he would have been an Allstar Celtic great . 

I never wanted Pierce gone . He needed help .

[Ogaju]

Interesting stuff, OP. Paul Pierce's earlier part of his career was before my time, so you only ever hear the positives.

That was because Danny started his character assasination on Paul and he got tired and frustrated about it that season.

I do not get it..... so OP posts a video of PP pushing an overly aggressive defendant away from him, and now he is Kyrie? This is false equivalency at its height.

[Ogaju]

If Chris Paul had been on this team the last decade+ it might have more than 1 title.  Just remember that as well.

Or if KG doesn't get hurt that night in Utah, it might be more than 1 title with Pierce.  Remember that as well.

Sure, plenty of what ifs, but Chris Paul has ended up with HOF career and is obviously significantly younger than Paul Pierce.  And obviously there is no guarantee that CP stayed the whole time and how things would have shaken out, but if I could go back in time to the 2005 draft and knew nothing other than CP would end up with a HOF career and PP would have a normal career arc, I, without question and 100% of the time, would have chosen CP over PP going forward.  100% of the time.

What if they had traded for Paul, and as a result they never were in a position to trade for Garnett?


They probably don't even win one title in that scenario.  CP probably still ends up going to another team in 2012 / 2013.

I do believe if we ended up with the #1 pick in the 2007 lottery, that Ainge would've drafted Durant and probably traded Pierce.

He probably would've built around Durant, Jefferson, Rondo, Perkins, Tony Allen and Delonte West.

So, getting the 5th pick ended up being a blessing in disguise.

Sure, we would've had Durant as our franchise player for the next 10-12 years and a much longer window but I'll still take the championship in '07/08.

Or knowing Ainge, he would've drafted Greg Oden or Mike Conley with the number 1 pick. Just like how he passed on Giannis for Olynyk.

Ainge has said numerous times that Durant was the only player that he would've drafted.

But can we please leave the drafting process alone... I swear we talk about Giannis like every day, while not being cognizant of the fact other GM's also passed on Giannis too.

How many of those GMs traveled to Greece to watch him play.