Paul Pierce has never lacked for confidence. The Washington Wizards forward is a frequent crunch-time playmaker and avid trash-talker, traits backed-up by a legendary career that will eventually make him a Hall-of-Famer. And though his role in 2014-2015 is an ancillary one, the 37 year-old still boasts the charming arrogance that’s spurred him to superstardom.
Before facing the Brooklyn Nets for the first time since he left for the Wizards in free agency last summer, Pierce went third-person to describe the state of his former team. Via Mike Mazzeo of ESPN:
“Any team without Paul Pierce misses him. Period,” Pierce said following the team’s morning shootaround.
Awesome.
Pierce maintains that playing against the Nets is inconsequential from a big-picture perspective – he was only in the borough for one season, after all. But being an opponent of Kevin Garnett for the first time since 2007? That’s a far different story.
Pierce and Garnett were teammates every season from 2007-2008 to 2013-2014. They won a title during their first year together with the Boston Celtics, then were traded in tandem to Brooklyn once Danny Ainge decided it was time to re-build the green-and-gold. The two grew fiercely close over the years, strengthening a friendship forged when they were teenagers. Pierce recently posted a photo of he and Garnett as adolescents on social media:
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) December 5, 2014
At dinner on Thursday night, Pierce and Garnett were friends first and opponents second. The Wizards veteran, though, still couldn’t help but poke some fun at his former teammate:
“It’s gonna seem weird, I guess. We’ve been on the same team for the last seven, eight years. We had a chance to sit down and talk last night, but we understand that it is what it is. He’s there, I’m here. At the end of the day we’re facing each other.
“I just hope he doesn’t hit me with one of those illegal screens like he usually does with these other guys,” Pierce joked.
On a NBA Friday jam-packed with quality matchups, we’ll certainly take some time to catch Wizards-Nets. Watching Pierce and Garnett run the same floor will bring back fond memories of their Boston days, a reminiscence of which we’re running out of time to enjoy.
Plus, there’s always the chance the two could butt heads – considering the fierce competitiveness of both players, it certainly wouldn’t shock us.
What do you think?
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