The NBA Needs More Paul Pierce's

[Mike-Dub]

This was a short, but excellent article from our fellow celtics fans at Gino's Jungle...

http://ginosjungle.webs.com/apps/blog/show/4192921

The NBA Needs More Paul Pierce's
 Posted by GreenBanner18 on July 5, 2010 at 7:07 PM

With Paul Pierce agreeing to a fresh 4 year deal with the Celtics, it more than likely means he will be retiring with the same team he entered the league with. The best part is, he won't be doing it the same way other athletes have to do so. He won't meander around the league, shuffling through a bunch of 1 and 2 year deals with a bunch of subpar teams before eventually returning to sign a 1 day contract with the team he played the majority of his career with, so he could retire as a member of that team (Nomar Garciaparra).
 
What it appears he will be doing is a special occurrence for any professional sport. It shows a players dedication to a city and organization, and a cities and organizations dedication to the player. Although there were some rough spots along the way, including times when Pierce thought he wanted to be traded, and the team thought they wanted to traded Pierce, you have to expect those ups and downs to occur over what could be a 16 year relationship.
 
Baseball has their Derek Jeter's.. The NFL has their Troy Aikman's... And the NBA needs their Paul Pierce's. All these players are athletes who you can not possibly picture, or it even hurts your brain to imagine them in a different uniform than the pinstripes, "Dallas Lone Star", or Celtics green.
 
The Truth could have tested the waters. He could have waited for the rest of the Free Agents to start making their moves, and try to get more money in a different situation with a different team. Instead, in the way it should be, the team made a respectful offer (maybe not as much as he could get elsewhere, but enough nonetheless) and Pierce accepted because he WANTS to be on this team.
 
The NBA, heck all professional sports... heck even college sports need more athletes who have everything invested in one team, and one city. It's always better to know you are cheering for a guy who you always have, and always will cheer for, than it is a guy who may be on your teams rival in a year or two..

Paul Pierce is the definition of Celtic Pride and shows what it truly means to be a Celtic...

And to think the guy grew up a Lakers fan.

[butterbeanlove]

Amen. And a huge contrast to the likes of Brian Shaw, who grew up in LA but never could get over his childhood crush on the Fakers and tried to screw the C's over the first chance he got. I hope he gets the HC job out there someday - we need a villain to take the place when Phil Jax shuffles off to the retirement community.

[Jon]

Let's also not jump to conclusions here.  We don't know if he'll try to play fifth year or if things will get hairy by year 3 and both the Celtics and he will want to part ways. 

Still, there's no shame in that.  The Chief (who started in Golden State) and played for Charlotte and Chicago at the end doesn't lose any of his Celtic allure for playing elsewhere. 

[rkls134]

I get the premise, but this is a little silly, after all Jordan played for the Wizards, Montana played for the Chiefs, and Willie Mays played for the Mets. All three far better and more significant players.

Plus Aikman SUCKED, and still does as a broadcaster, so does Joe Buck while I'm at it.

[Mike-Dub]

I get the premise, but this is a little silly, after all Jordan played for the Wizards, Montana played for the Chiefs, and Willie Mays played for the Mets. All three far better and more significant players.

Plus Aikman SUCKED, and still does as a broadcaster, so does Joe Buck while I'm at it.

Jordan would have been better off staying with the Bulls.  His final shot against the Jazz would have been the perfect way for him to go out.

[rkls134]

I get the premise, but this is a little silly, after all Jordan played for the Wizards, Montana played for the Chiefs, and Willie Mays played for the Mets. All three far better and more significant players.

Plus Aikman SUCKED, and still does as a broadcaster, so does Joe Buck while I'm at it.

Jordan would have been better off staying with the Bulls.  His final shot against the Jazz would have been the perfect way for him to go out.

Reinsdorf and Krauss didn't want him back, nor Phil or Scottie. He really didn't have a choice in the matter. Nobody was gonna force The G.O.A.T. to retire.

[Mike-Dub]

I get the premise, but this is a little silly, after all Jordan played for the Wizards, Montana played for the Chiefs, and Willie Mays played for the Mets. All three far better and more significant players.

Plus Aikman SUCKED, and still does as a broadcaster, so does Joe Buck while I'm at it.

Jordan would have been better off staying with the Bulls.  His final shot against the Jazz would have been the perfect way for him to go out.

Reinsdorf and Krauss didn't want him back, nor Phil or Scottie. He really didn't have a choice in the matter. Nobody was gonna force The G.O.A.T. to retire.

He shouldn't have came back he should have stayed retired.

[rkls134]

I get the premise, but this is a little silly, after all Jordan played for the Wizards, Montana played for the Chiefs, and Willie Mays played for the Mets. All three far better and more significant players.

Plus Aikman SUCKED, and still does as a broadcaster, so does Joe Buck while I'm at it.

Jordan would have been better off staying with the Bulls.  His final shot against the Jazz would have been the perfect way for him to go out.

Reinsdorf and Krauss didn't want him back, nor Phil or Scottie. He really didn't have a choice in the matter. Nobody was gonna force The G.O.A.T. to retire.

He shouldn't have came back he should have stayed retired.

Probably should have, with the way he played in that second season with the Wiz. The first was good though.

He first bought part of the Wizards, and then decided to play in order to get Doug Collins to coach the team, and because like I said, NOBODY was gonna force The G.O.A.T. to retire.

[I Lack Maturity]

I get the premise, but this is a little silly, after all Jordan played for the Wizards, Montana played for the Chiefs, and Willie Mays played for the Mets. All three far better and more significant players.

Plus Aikman SUCKED, and still does as a broadcaster, so does Joe Buck while I'm at it.

Jordan would have been better off staying with the Bulls.  His final shot against the Jazz would have been the perfect way for him to go out.

Reinsdorf and Krauss didn't want him back, nor Phil or Scottie. He really didn't have a choice in the matter. Nobody was gonna force The G.O.A.T. to retire.

He shouldn't have came back he should have stayed retired.

Probably should have, with the way he played in that second season with the Wiz. The first was good though.

He first bought part of the Wizards, and then decided to play in order to get Doug Collins to coach the team, and because like I said, NOBODY was gonna force The G.O.A.T. to retire.

We all may say he should have retired but at the same time we were all doing backflips at the chance to watch number 23 play again. It put a fresh buzz in the air, we all wanted to watch his airness (try to) dunk on someone.

[guava_wrench]

Kobe, Duncan, Dirk -- it is not uncommon to stick with one team. On the other hand, Kobe and Pierce both complained about being on non-contenders or non playoff teams and threatened leaving town.

All of this also means nothing if the player hasn't retired yet. Look at Brett Favre. Retired a Packer than unretired.

Perhaps if Favre had concussion problems like Aikman, he would have retired a Packer.

[Bahku]

This is just another example of what Celtic Pride is all about, and that Paul Pierce is in a league above and beyond arrogance like Kobe's and LeBron's. This was done for the sake of the Celtics, and I pray it's rewarded in some fashion.

To take a pay cut at a time when he could easily have moved elsewhere at an increase, is a very rare thing in professional sports these days ... especially when he could have moved closer to home, and into the warmer climate he grew up with.

I know Red is just loving this, and the example this sets to younger players in an era where everything is about the money, is priceless. Team loyalty has drastically waned in the face of big money contracts, and this is a breath of fresh air.

I can't begin to express how happy I am that Paul will most likely retire as a Celtic, or how proud I am of this move he's made. Yes, he threatened to leave once, but only because he knew the C's weren't at the competitive level they could have been at that time.

He's been my favorite player since Larry Bird retired, and Boston owes him a lot for giving us something to watch in the "lean" years, but my regard for him with this decision has just skyrocketed!

No way would the likes of LeBron or Kobe make this kind of sacrifice for loyalty to their franchise, and it's undeniable proof that Paul Pierce is not only a superstar-level player, but a person of unusual character.

If there was doubt in anyone's mind about how Paul feels about Boston, the Celtics, or the fans of New England, this should dispell it once-and-for-all.

Yes, many people will down-play it, and some may have good reason for doing so, but whatever you think about Paul Pierce, it's still undeniable that this move is a rare thing in professional sports nowadays.

So from now on when anyone wants to know what Celtic Pride and Ubuntu are all about, just point them in the direction of Paul Pierce. It would be nice if his example would catch on, (but I'm not holding my breath).

Whatever the future brings for The Truth and the Celtics, I feel a lot more secure going forward with him in our back pocket, and the prospect of #34 being raised to the rafters ... along with banner #18.

[thebat]

Lucky for us fans... as we are all witnesses to the future HOF, the great Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce!

[makaveli]

This is the reason he's my favorite player, I think I'll cry for a week after his final game. 4 more years, possibly 5-6, of witnessing on of the greatest players of ALL-TIME.

[kozlodoev]

I love Pierce and all, but this article is so over the top, it's silly, especially in a league in which where you play depends a lot on the owners' ability and willingness to pay.

The fact is, if Ainge never offered the contract, all this talk about "having more Paul Pierces" (yes, it's Paul Pierces, not Paul Pierce's) would have been moot.

[MiamiCelticfan]

I love Pierce and all, but this article is so over the top, it's silly, especially in a league in which where you play depends a lot on the owners' ability and willingness to pay.

The fact is, if Ainge never offered the contract, all this talk about "having more Paul Pierces" (yes, it's Paul Pierces, not Paul Pierce's) would have been moot.

Your missing the point. The point is pierce never made his free agency a big circus. He opted out to get more years and negotiated in good faith. I live here in Miami and Dwayne wade is getting killed by the fanbase because of the way he's handled this thing. I personally dont see anything wrong with what wade's doing, He's a free agent and has the right to do and take as long as he pleases, but the fanbase feels he's putting them thru an emotinal ringer.

Pierce was about getting the contract done and not putting n a big show. For that i say Thank you Paul Pierce!!!