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Paul Pierce Talks Celtics’ Offseason

August 3rd, 2012 at 12:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Heading into the offseason, Paul Pierce was one of the few Celtics under contract, with two years remaining on his four-year deal. Over the last month, GM Danny Ainge has worked to surround Pierce and Rajon Rondo with new and returning faces, retooling a roster that was one win away from reaching the Finals in 2011/12. Pierce sat down with Celtics.com for an exclusive interview to discuss the club's moves, and ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg transcribed a number of the veteran's more notable quotes. Here are the highlights from the discussion:

On Ray Allen signing with the Heat:

"Ray made the best decision for him. That’s what it’s all about: You get in these situations, you become a free agent, and you make a decision based on what’s best for you and your family. Ray will always be a brother for me. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be wearing a championship ring. So the things he was able to do for this organization, will never be forgotten."

On whether he's talked with Allen since his decision:

"A couple texts. I’m a little bitter that he went to Miami, but he’s still a brother of mine."

On Boston's free agent signings:

"I love what Danny’s been able to do. It was a tough decision this summer; A lot was riding on what direction we were going to head in. It was just a domino effect, once we signed Kevin [Garnett], we knew were going to try to make another run at it. That’s pretty much the way I looked at it. Once we signed him, a number of guys were able to jump on board…. I think the guys coming in here — Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, trying to get a healthy Jeff Green, even some of our rookies — I think we’ve added a lot more depth, and it’s going to take a lot of pressure off me this upcoming season.

On which new Celtic he's most excited to play with:

"I’ve always been a big fan of Jason Terry. Playing against him in college for a couple years, then watching his NBA career flourish over the years. From winning a championship to just bringing that element to our ball club now — he’s one of best sixth men all-time to play the game. That’s something we were lacking a year ago, and that was only due to injuries, so hopefully he can bring that consistency, that championship experience, so we can get back to where we were a few years ago."

On the health of his knee:

"The knee is a lot better. It’s not completely healed, but I figure I’m about 90% now. So I’ve been doing a lot to strengthen it, so I can come back a stronger player. It really hampered me, I thought, the last 10-15 games of the year. I couldn’t explode like I wanted to. But everybody was hurt at that point of the year. Everybody was dealing with nagging injuries. That’s why I didn’t really stress on it too much in the playoffs, because I know everyone is dealing with injuries and that’s just another excuse."

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Kennedy On Roy, Celtics, Sixers, Gasol

June 16th, 2012 at 4:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy has the day's major story so far, about the return of Brandon Roy. While Roy suffers from a degenerative condition in his knees, Kennedy is confident that Roy can not only come back to play in the NBA, but do so at a high level. Kennedy recalls a conversation with Jamal Crawford, who said Roy looked dominant in pickup games against NBA players right before he retired. There will be plenty of suitors for Roy, Kennedy opines, believing he'd fit in as a sixth man with the Heat or the Lakers. There are several rumors on other topics around the league in Kennedy's latest chat transcript, and we'll hit the highlights here.

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Odds & Ends: Skiles, Griffin, Colangelo, Pierce

April 27th, 2012 at 10:20pm CST by Daniel Seco

With great anticipation of the weekend ahead full of playoff basketball, let's take a look around the league to see what's happening from coast to coast.

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Celtics Rumors: Allen, Pierce, Mayo

April 19th, 2012 at 9:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics clinched their fifth straight Atlantic Division crown last night, but it was no ordinary division title for the Big Three, writes Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com, who notes that the team was two games under .500 at the All-Star break.

Even as the Celtics locked up the Atlantic, the latest updates out of Boston revolved around yesterday's report about failed deadline deals involving Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Let's round up a few of them….

  • Doc Rivers appeared on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan Show and addressed the Allen and Pierce rumors, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com. The Celtics coach confirmed that the Allen trade was close, though he says it was GM Danny Ainge that called the veteran guard about the deal.
  • Rivers on the failed Pierce-to-the-Nets trade: "That wasn't close at all. That had no chance."
  • Allen deserved better treatment from the Celtics, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Washburn says Allen's demeanor has changed over the last few weeks, and that the likelihood of the sharpshooter returning to Boston next season may have diminished.
  • According to Donny Marshall on CSNNE, O.J. Mayo didn't have much interest in becoming a Celtic, and the Nets turned down the proposal involving Pierce.
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Celtics Nearly Traded Ray Allen To Grizzlies

April 18th, 2012 at 8:25am CST by Luke Adams

Although the Celtics ended up standing pat at last month's trade deadline, the team was close to making one or two blockbuster moves and breaking up its Big Three, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

According to Wojnarowski, Ray Allen received a phone call from Celtics coach Doc Rivers, telling him he'd been traded to the Grizzlies for a package that included O.J. Mayo and a draft pick. However, shortly after the call, Allen received word that the deal had fallen apart.

The Celtics also had serious discussions with the Nets about a deal that would've sent Paul Pierce to New Jersey in exchange for Mehmet Okur and a lottery pick, says Wojnarowski. Grantland's Bill Simmons wrote of those talks last week, noting that the Nets eventually elected to acquire Gerald Wallace from Portland for a similar package (one which also included Shawne Williams).

While the Celtics have played their best basketball of the season since the deadline and are a popular choice to upset the Bulls or Heat in the Eastern playoffs, the team's failed trades are interesting to consider. Had they made those deals, Boston would be heading into the summer armed with three first-round picks and even more cap flexibility, without Pierce on next year's books. We'll see if the Celtics' Big Three has one more run left to reward GM Danny Ainge's deadline decision to stand pat.

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Celtics Rumors: Allen, Garnett, Pierce, Rondo

March 22nd, 2012 at 10:31am CST by Luke Adams

With the Celtics' Big Three of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett potentially playing their last season together in Boston, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports talked to the Celtics stars about the trade deadline, the offseason, and their history. Spears also shares a few interesting trade and free agent tidbits along the way. Here are the highlights:

  • The Heat are expected to make a strong push to sign Allen this summer, a source tells Spears. Miami will almost certainly be a taxpaying team next season, so the club would only have a mini mid level exception to offer the sharpshooter.
  • Allen on the possibility of returning to the Celtics in free agency: "First of all, the team has to be willing to have me back. Then you have to look around to see what’s acceptable and who is capable of having me on the team and then you go from there. It’s hard to really say."
  • Coach Doc Rivers wouldn't be surprised to see Allen or Garnett, who are on expiring contracts, back in Boston next year: "I think people assume they won’t be back next year. I don’t know why there is that assumption. [Garnett and Allen] are free agents, but you can sign your own free agents last time I checked…. I don’t know if we will sign them both. We may sign one. But they’ve been great for us. Our [free agents] are probably the best ones and we will have the most money."
  • Rivers added that he thinks Garnett's first choice would be to return to Boston.
  • According to Spears, the Celtics were seeking first-round picks in exchange for Allen or Garnett at the trade deadline. Their asking price for Pierce was "a young star," and they were also only willing to move Rajon Rondo for an elite player.
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Failed Deals: Beasley, Crawford, Allen, Pierce

March 15th, 2012 at 3:31pm CST by Luke Adams

You've read about the trades that were completed prior to the deadline, but there were also plenty of moves that didn't quite work out. Here are a few that have been reported so far:

  • The Lakers had been in talks to acquire Michael Beasley in a deal that would've sent Jamal Crawford and Derek Fisher to the Timberwolves, with Dallas' first-round pick going to the Blazers, says Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (on Twitter).
  • Crawford also could've gone to the Lakers, but the Blazers didn't want to take on Derek Fisher, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
  • Before they acquired Nick Young, the Clippers talked extensively with the Rockets about trading for Courtney Lee, tweets Sam Amick of SI.com.
  • The Clippers were also "this close" from acquiring Ray Allen, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
  • The Celtics had serious talks with several teams about both Allen and Paul Pierce, but nothing came together, says Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
  • Another interesting tidbit from Amick: He says the Nuggets tried to engage the Kings on Nene/DeMarcus Cousins swap about a month ago, but the Kings weren't interested (Twitter links).
  • The Bucks made a "strong late push" for the Hornets' Carl Landry, but couldn't work anything out, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
  • GM Otis Smith told John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com that the Magic explored many deals to bring in help around Dwight Howard, but that the risk/reward factor didn't make sense (Twitter link).
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Trade Rumors: Hinrich, Pierce, Pistons, Crawford

March 15th, 2012 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA's 2:00pm trade deadline is upon us, but teams who are close to deals could still be given a little leeway to finalize things. Here are a few of the latest rumors:

  • Kirk Hinrich will remain a Hawk through the deadline, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
  • The Hawks and Bobcats will stand pat, says Steve Kyler of Hoops World (Twitter link).
  • Interest in Paul Pierce picked up today, but a deal isn't likely because the Celtics' asking price is too high, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
  • The Pistons received and made phone calls, but likely won't make a deadline deal, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
  • Joe Freeman of The Oregonian tweets that the Blazers are still working on a Jamal Crawford trade, but a deal doesn't look likely, says Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter).
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Broussard On Pierce, Brooks, Curry, McGee, Daye

March 14th, 2012 at 12:31pm CST by Luke Adams

ESPN.com's Chris Broussard has a ton of trade rumors in today's Insider-only piece. You can read his major update on Dwight Howard here, but let's dive into the rest of his rumors….

  • The Celtics offered Paul Pierce to the Blazers, though Broussard isn't sure who else would've been involved in the deal. Portland wasn't interested in Boston's proposal.
  • The Clippers are reluctant to trade Eric Bledsoe for Jamal Crawford because they believe Crawford will opt out of his contract at season's end, and Bledsoe will have more value at draft time, since there won't be many point guards available.
  • Ramon Sessions is unlikely to be moved unless the Cavaliers can get a first-round pick. Cleveland would try to trade for Jonny Flynn if they moved Sessions, though the Spurs have also expressed interest in Flynn.
  • The Cavs are also in talks with the Hornets about swapping Antawn Jamison for Emeka Okafor and a first-round pick.
  • Aaron Brooks is drawing interest from the Blazers and Kings, though the Suns hope to re-sign him. When Brooks returns from China, he can only sign with Phoenix. If he doesn't sign anywhere this season, he becomes a restricted free agent again this summer.
  • A second-round pick is likely all it would take for the Hornets to move Chris Kaman.
  • The Warriors preferred to deal Stephen Curry rather than Monta Ellis, but Curry's ongoing ankle issues hurt his trade value.
  • Broussard hears JaVale McGee will be seeking a contract worth $14MM annually this summer. Good luck with that, JaVale.
  • Wilson Chandler is seeking a deal starting at $7MM, which the Nuggets feel is too high, since that amount won't be prorated this season — Denver would prefer to start around $5MM.
  • The Pistons are shopping Austin Daye "all day every day" but not many teams are biting.
  • The Grizzlies would like to move Sam Young to get below the luxury tax line.
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Celtics Rumors: Allen, Bradley, Rondo, Pierce

March 14th, 2012 at 8:19am CST by Luke Adams

Following a blockbuster deal by the Eastern Conference's current eighth seed, is it the seventh seed's turn to strike? The Celtics have been at the center of countless trade rumors over the last few weeks, but according to GM Danny Ainge, no moves are imminent for Boston.

"It's not because of a lack of trying or having conversations with other teams," Ainge told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. "We just haven't come across a deal that we feel good about, that will make us a better team."

The Celtics have less than 30 hours to find that deal. While we wait to see if Ainge pulls anything off, here are the latest links out of Boston:

  • According to Blakely, Ray Allen is the Celtic most likely to be moved.
  • Avery Bradley is drawing "significant" interest as well, but an official from a rival team doesn't expect a trade: "Danny loves that kid, and now that he's playing and playing well… he's worth more to them to keep than to flip."
  • The only way the Celtics could change their stance on not trading Rajon Rondo is if a player like Deron Williams becomes available, but a Nets source assures Blakely that's not happening.
  • Ainge is reluctant to give up 2012 draft picks in any deal, telling Blakely that, while a short-term improvement would be nice, the team doesn't want to compromise its long-term goals.
  • Asked about the possibility of a trade, Paul Pierce indicated to J.A. Adande of ESPN.com that the decision will likely be out of his hands: "There's only so much I can control…. I've heard it put out there that if Danny Ainge gets the opportunity, [a trade] can happen. So I'm not in a situation like Steve Nash where it's only if he requests it. That wasn't said to me. That's what it is."
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