Nice article on Paul Pierce

[Who]

ESPN is ratings driven.  They allow dissenting views if the views drive numbers up.  Pierce just doesn't drive numbers up because he is pretty terrible as analyst and commentator and just isn't funny.  He just can't pull that off like Barkley and Shaq, which is a large reason why TNT lets those 2 go off on tangents all of the time, and why ESPN reigned Pierce in. 

I do wonder if Ainge wouldn't have been able to pull off the Allen trade (which led to KG), if he might have explored a trade with Dallas for Pierce.  I assume Josh Howard would have been the main target along with some draft picks and probably Devin Harris.  In 06-07 (so the year before), Howard just finished his 4th season and made the all star game for the first time at age 26.  So theoretically he would have been a young all star just entering his prime.  Injuries derailed his career soon after.  Harris just finished year 3 and was 23 at the time and looking like he could be an excellent starting PG.  He would end up making the 09 all star team scoring over 20 a game. 

So Howard, Harris, salary filler (Dampier or Stackhouse would make the most sense), and a future 1st or 2 for Pierce and maybe a young guy like Allen or West

Boston obviously looks much different historically and certainly would have gone all in on rebuilding through the draft and around Jefferson.  Who knows how that might have worked out long term.

If I'm remembering correctly, two of the names that always seemed to come up in Pierce rumors (or, media-driven trade ideas) were Shaun Livingston and Kirk Hinrich.  It's interesting that both of those guys saw their careers take a serious downturn starting in 2008.  Livingston obviously had the devastating injury.  I can't recall what happened with Hinrich, but he went from looking like a future two-way star in 2007 to little more than a role player in 2008 and beyond.

The arrival of Derrick Rose. Less time on the ball. More off the ball. Reduced Hinrich's offensive value. Defending SGs full time instead of a mix of PGs & SGs which reduced his defensive value.

[Big333223]

Someone on twitter said something to the effect of Pierce not being one of the top tier all timers but he owns space in more players heads than almost anyone.

I thought that touched on something very true about Pierce. He wasn't "great" on the level of Lebron, Garnett, or Kobe... but Pierce haunts the minds of a lot of players and fans alike.

Pierce never had a run like Tracy McGrady had in the mid 00's but how many fanbases are haunted by things Paul Pierce did to their team? A lot more than TMac, I think.

[SparzWizard]

Paul Pierce absolutely has a great point.

I would get sick talking about LeBron everyday. That lovefest with him going on in ESPN...yuck.

[Moranis]

https://sports.yahoo.com/paul-pierce-the-boston-celtics-legend-and-hall-of-famer-was-better-than-you-think-161731774.html

love this quote

Pierce may not be better than he thinks. (We will get to that.) But he was definitely better than you think

[gouki88]

Watching old highlights of Pierce - did anyone utilise the side-step three like he did prior to him? He really paved the way with that move for the less athletic perimeter players of today

[Kiorrik]

This is making me, once again, want to rewatch the entire '07-'08 season.

Wish it was available somewhere man

[LilRip]

This is making me, once again, want to rewatch the entire '07-'08 season.

Wish it was available somewhere man

Even just the playoff run for me. Every series was great. Hawks > Cavs > Pistons > Lakers

[Kiorrik]

This is making me, once again, want to rewatch the entire '07-'08 season.

Wish it was available somewhere man

Even just the playoff run for me. Every series was great. Hawks > Cavs > Pistons > Lakers

I loved literally every single game. Just seeing this team getting better and better. It was kinda nuts. Especially seeing Rondo develop into such a weirdly integral part.

[radiohead]

This is making me, once again, want to rewatch the entire '07-'08 season.

Wish it was available somewhere man

There are some complete games in youtube. Just search for 2008 Celtics.