You never expect it. You never expect to see the day your idols grow old. Old and slow, and stubborn and forgotten. The pull-up jumpers start falling short. The legs start giving out. Paul Pierce isn’t the same player he once was. That player wouldn’t have asked to guard LeBron and then proceed to get lit up for 49 points. But the Truth still has something left, and he says he intends to play for another year or two.
After losing 96-94 in Game 5 of their second-round series against Miami, Pierce told ESPN New York that this won’t be the last we see of him:
“I haven’t really put much thought into it,” Pierce said of what his future holds and if he wants to remain a Net. “I put my whole focus into this season, it’s my last year of the contract. I will sit back and talk to the family and see where my options are from there and go from there.”
Pierce will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and despite Brooklyn owning his Bird Rights, there are already rumors the 36-year-old could be teaming up with old friend Doc Rivers in Los Angeles.
[RELATED: Paul Pierce & the Brooklyn Nets asked for this]
Reported by ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, Pierce’s decision may hinge on what Kevin Garnett decides to do next year. Garnett is still owed $12 million in 2014-15, so it seems unlikely the big man will give all that up to retire. With KG in Brooklyn, the Nets will obviously look much more attractive to Pierce. But without him? There’d be a very good chance Pierce finds greener pastures elsewhere.
Would you sign the Truth?
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