Paul Pierce ended his NBA career by doing something fairly common. Despite not playing for the team since 2013, the Celtics legend signed a one-day deal with Boston so he could retire with the franchise that turned him into a star. Pierce did this on Monday, giving his career a poetic end, as he suited up with the Celtics for his first 15 season in the league.
Of course, Pierce’s time in Boston ended when he was traded alongside Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry to the Brooklyn Nets for, among other things, a whole bunch of future first-round picks. The deal was a blockbuster at the time, but in the years since, the Celtics have come out looking great while the Nets, um, let’s just say they haven’t exactly thrived recently.
Pierce decided to use this trade to make a joke during his one-day contract signing. With Celtics general manager and president of basketball operations Danny Ainge in the room, Pierce thought it would be fun to remind him of the trade by wearing a piece of Nets gear to sign the contract, according to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan.
He showed up at his old haunt, the Boston Celtics practice facility in Waltham, Massachusetts, wearing a throwback Inglewood T-shirt and a pair of Brooklyn Nets basketball shorts.
“Hey Danny, see this?” said Paul Pierce, tugging at the silver and black of the Nets. “This is where you sent me!”
MacMullan continued by mentioning that Pierce eventually threw on a Celtics t-shirt to sign the bottom line. Oh, and if you’re going to miss Pierce around the league, no worries: The reason he signed this deal with Boston on Monday was so that he could drive to Bristol, Conn. on Tuesday and sign a contract with ESPN as a hoops analyst. As he told MacMullan, “The minute I sign with ESPN, I’m officially retired.”
(Via ESPN)
