P. Pierce opts for present

44Thrilla · Apr 28, 2010

Paul Pierce has listened to all the Dwyane Wade free agent talk with proper detachment. A potential crisis for the Miami Heat is of no real concern to Pierce as he tries to make a long playoff run with the Celtics [team stats].

But Pierce has some career issues of his own to consider down the line. He, too, can opt out of his final contract year and hit the market. And that fact is a secondary reason why he wants the current crew of Celtics to have a big postseason. Pierce is hopeful that team management will feel the need to simply tweak the lineup rather than perform major surgery.

The decision above will have an impact on his own situation.

“I really try not to think about it too much,” Pierce said. “My whole thing is that I want to retire as a Celtic. And if they get into a rebuilding phase . . . I don’t know.

“Who knows what’s going to happen? Who knows what’s going to happen with Doc (Rivers, the C’s coach)? That’s a good question, man. I don’t know. I do want to retire a Celtic, regardless of if I have to go the Nomar Garciaparra route or whatever.”

As he delivered the latter line, Pierce broke into a big laugh. The thought of leaving the Celts and returning on a one-day contract just to retire here - as Garciaparra did with the Red Sox [team stats] - is a flight of humor for a guy trying to get past Miami tonight and take a shot at the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Pierce has business to take care of, but he hears all the Wade talk and he knows his coach will be making a decision on his own future with the Celtics during the summer.

“No man, really,” Pierce said, settling back into serious mode. “I’m not thinking about playing anywhere else. This is where I’ve been my whole career. But honestly, it’d be a tough decision for me to make if Doc decides to step down and we rebuild.”

The bond with Rivers is a good argument for weathering the storms in a relationship. The two weren’t always on the same page - or in the same library. Getting through all that might only have served to make them tighter.

“I think you always have that comfort level with a guy you’ve been through the ups and downs with,” Pierce said. “You know, we’ve been at the bottom together and we’ve risen to the top together, so it’d be tough to think about playing for somebody else right now.

“It’s just like when Kobe (Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers star) said he didn’t want to play for nobody else but Phil (Jackson). (Shaquille O’Neal) said the same thing, but that didn’t come true. But I think you create a certain bond with a coach when you’ve been through those type of situations.”

The captain struggled to grasp the notion of going back to square one and reaching the same point of trust with someone else.

“I really can’t picture myself playing for another coach and trying to do it all it over again,” Pierce said. “We’ve developed something good over all the years of being together.

“After the season I’ll see what he’s thinking. I’ve still got some years left in me. I hope he does, too.”

It cannot be stated enough how much Pierce wants those years to be played out in Celtics green. He arrived here 12 years ago with a better sense of NBA history than most of his generation and, despite his Lakers fan roots, grew to embrace the importance of this franchise.

Pierce smiles when he talks about standing with Bill Russell and John Havlicek and being part of what he sees as a special fraternity. But he can’t escape the present, which is why he wants to win even more now so he can stay the Celtics course.
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http://bostonherald.com/sports/bask..._for_present_future_plans_also_include_green/

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P. Pierce opts for present

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