Will Paul Pierce Be Traded?
by Jeff Clark on Mar 2, 2012 5:59 AM EST
in Boston Celtics Articles
Email
Print
I'm starting a "Will ____ Be Traded" series over the next couple of days just to give us a chance to sound off on each player as we get into rumor season.
Nobody wants to see the Captain go. In fact, seeing Paul Pierce leave town would be nothing short of catastrophic for many fans. Granted, some of those same fans were calling for him to be traded 4 years ago when the team was facing a similar (but vastly different) crossroads moment but obviously a lot has changed since. Most fans (like myself) want to see Pierce retire as a Celtic. But will he get that chance?
He is listed by many as the Celtic with the most trade value. He's still an All Star who can create his own shot and he's under contract for the next couple of years (with favorable buyout options should his play deteriorate quickly). You would think that a contending team would love to add someone like Pierce to their squad. But getting a guy like Pierce means sending out a lot of salary, which could disrupt the core that made a team a contender in the first place. Besides, integrating Pierce into a lineup is going to take time that the lockout shortened season doesn't afford.
While I think that Danny Ainge will listen to offers and would ultimately pull the trigger on a sweetheart deal, I don't see another team stepping up with what it would take to get Pierce. If anything, I'd imagine teams would be low-balling Ainge on the hopes that he would blow up the team. The guess here is that Pierce stays, but maybe that's just my heart telling my head what to think. What do you think?
46 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Really don't
think so…..but, it’ll be a doosy of a trade if one would go down.
I really thought something would happen deal wise right away. The longer things go with nothing happening, I believe increases the odds that Danny is going only for another homerun ball, and they end up making no deals at all.
After being pulled back and forth between blowing it up and not, all I’m really looking forward to now is the 15th, to see what we’ll end up with!
my guess
the only thing that might happen,10% maybe,is Williams for Rondo because Howard got traded and they are stuck.Rondo is worth more to us than others.The devil you know…
I think we add eg-Kaman after buyout
Catastrophic would pretty much describe it for me
And I don’t know what to think. I voted not sure.
No
.
I am 99 44/100% sure that Paul Pierce should retire as a life-long Celtic.
Besides, what player(s) could we get in a trade that helps us now and for the next couple of years that would be better than just keeping Pierce?
IF...
…you could add Kaman after buyout, then you do nothing at all. Kaman is a big man who could help this team immensely.
New York Daily News reporting that
Celtics interested in Josh Smith and other young players. On the surface, this would support the notion that Rondo stays since these guys are buddies. It also helps land Howard next season because Howard is also buddies with Smith. However, the report also states that the Celtics are looking for a PG in exchange for Rondo. So who knows if the story has legs.
Pierce should stay. I realize this is a business but does loyalty have to be tossed aside in every decision? And it is not like PP cannot still play. He is the team’s leading scorer. Perhaps give him a different role but he should retire a Celtic. Other than JO leaving for a younger big, I do not want to break up this team at all. I would rather get everyone healthy for the playoffs because this is a very good team despite their record.
i am in the minority with this one BUT..
i think yes he should go.. I don’t get what every one watches now, pierce has lost steps, bad turn overs, taking forced shots and passing on open shots. It seems like he is playing bad enough to not want a team to trade for him.
He and rondo seem to have a power struggle when it comes to the offense. If one plays well the other one seems to stand around, they have stopped working together. Pierce won’t be around in 4 years either way.
I sort-of compare it to what happened to kobe and Shaq, niether deserve to be compared to the talent of kobe or Shaq. But you could see that there was a power struggle going on. Get the best package you can for pierce, he will be remembered as a celtic. The team doesnt owe him anything, he was paid very well when the record wasn’t good. He made a lot of money. He has been to all star games, finals etc.. sorry, but its time to move on and to tart the rebuild process. KG and ray are gone at the end of the year anyways. A trade is better than amnestying him in July.
I don't have a problem with trading anyone, but
you need to receive more talent coming in than going out… Pretty simple.
Lateral moves do not make sense to me
unless you’re dealing a malcontent, and it’s addition by subtraction.
how many trades do you see that have 1 team getting A+ talent and the other getting A+ talent?
Pierce is a valuable piece for a team trying to win it all. For an 8th seed, no. He isn’t worth 15 million. So get pieces to work back up to being a contending team. Any player at any time should be considered in a trade, IF he becomes less valuable to the team he is on than his contract pays him. Pierce isn’t worth his at this point.
Right now he can’t do what he is use to doing. His dribble has not been good. Players are bigger and faster than him now so his lack of athletics is catching up. When he is in his prime it was his foot work that made him productive, well he isn’t as fast with his foot work as he used to be, that’s why you see careless dribbling turn overs, forced shots forced passes.
Hmmm...
Among full-time Small Forwards in the NBA right now, Pierce is 6th in scoring per 40 minutes (essentially tied with Granger & Gallinari for 4th behind Lebron, Durant & Anthony) at 20.4 pts per 40.
Among top scoring SFs, he’s also dealing out 6.2 assists per 40, second only to Lebron (7.5).
In total point creation (scored + generated by assists) Pierce is a clear 4th at 34 pts per 40, just behind Anthony (35.7) & Durant (37.2). (Lebron is way ahead of everyone at 46.3 pts created per 40.)
It should be pointed out that Pierce is doing this while taking fewer shots (just 15.8 per 40) than most top scoring SFs (James, Durant, Anthony & Granger all take 18-21 shots). This is partly due to the slow pace the C’s play at and partly because our offense doesn’t focus around one guy.
Among those top guys, Pierce’s 3.4 Turnovers per 40 is not the lowest, but it is lower than James (4.0), Durant (3.8), and Anthony’s (3.5).
We have lost all 5 games that Pierce has missed this season. With him, we are 17-12, which would be .586 and have us in first place in the Atlantic.
Looking across his numbers, his FT% & 3PT% are solid. The only thing that’s down a bit is his FG% – and its not exactly ‘bad’ compared to most SFs. It’s just not up where he usually is. Surprisingly, it isn’t because he’s not going at the rim as much – his attempts and % at the rim are just barely down from prior years. His overall FG% is being dragged down by unusually poor shooting from 10-15 feet – his classic elbow jumper – is only hitting at 34% so far this year. That sort of thing is streaky though. I’m not too worried about it.
I think you are off a bit in your assessment of how well Pierce is playing this season.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
You lost me when you have to say per 40 min. To make your case. What does Moore or johnson average per 40.
Where was Malones loyalty for Utah. He bailed on rebuilding in utah for LA.
Pippen left Chicago.
This isn’t let’s draft a guy and keep him for 20 years no matter what. How many sell outs were there when they won 20 games? Where was the fan loyalty
You lost me when you said, "You lost me ..."
Simple concept: Comparing players you have to normalize the minutes played. I could post the ratings against ‘per 36’ and the rankings come out the same.
Its not like they play drastically different minutes per game – Pierce(34.6), Anthony (34.2), Durant (38.0), Lebron (36.7). But those times ARE different so you have to normalize if you are going to compare.
But I realize that this requires 4th grade math so may be a little too hard.
I’ll summarize: The net result is it is pretty compelling that Pierce is easily still one of the top 4 Small Forwards in the game right now. That doesn’t mean you don’t trade him. It simply establishes his value.
My comment had nothing to do with loyalty but with how your description of Pierce’s level of play was completely off base and not grounded in reality. So I have no idea why you are going on about loyalty.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
I don’t need the jab.. so I’m not responding.
If your comparing pierce to Lebron, melo and Durant put all the numbers up. Don’t just scew them to prove your point. Yeah. Pierce has low turn over numbers compared to those 3. But pierce doesn’t have the ball in his hands as much as those 3 do. So let’s get even deeper into the numbers, come up with touches. Per game/plays ran thru pierce/lebron/melo/durant. Than add. in turn overs, forced shots, passed up open shots. Shooting %, shots per game.. you still put pierce up there with those 3? Give me a break. You are basically saying pierce can be compared to those 3. 3 of the top 6 players in the game. Take the goggles off. Pierce probably isnt in the top 15 players in the league.
'Never claimed the latter.
Simply that he’s still one of the top SFs in the league.
At least I’ve offered proof to support that assertion. You’ve offered … nothing.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
i dont do rankings and lists...
But I would take… at this point, right now…
Lebron, melo, durant, granger, AI, galo, gay over pierce right..
He wasn't in shape
after lockout, not sure he is yet? I don’t think he will bring as much as some people on here
might think. Rondo is the only true asset as a trade chip, although I doubt he moves as well.
Ricky Williams retired....Cue up Bob Marley,
"Excuse me while I light my spliff"...
Why wasn’t he in shape, rondo rehabbed his elbow and came into camp in shape. KG has played a lot of games, doesn’t look out of shape, just looks older. Ray looks like he can run the ny marathon. Jeff green was said to be ready, than health took over. Giving pierce the excuse of not in shape, that’s why we should keep him. That’s why he has struggled isnt fair to the players who came in ready to play. And pierce is the captain
Not disagreeing
and also not excusing him as well, simply pointing out that he won’t be bring as much
as some might think. KG was also not in shape earlier in the season, I agree that Ray Ray
is always in great shape. BTW, this isn’t that unusual, Dirk is just starting to round into
shape, when players are not sure when a lockout will end…I am sure we could come up
with a list of players.As I said, not excusing PP.
Ricky Williams retired....Cue up Bob Marley,
"Excuse me while I light my spliff"...
by Great Gatsby on Mar 2, 2012 10:16 AM EST up reply actions
I agree. You won’t get pierces value in return. But Chicago got bad, than got noah, rose had cap space to get boozer.. the celtics have a shot to get a good pick in a deep draft. If they move pierce fall into a top ten pick and get a Barnes, drummond..etc. than your trading pierce for another pick and who ever they get in the draft.
Sort Of Agree And Disagree About Players Being In Shape
I don’t think Paul Pierce or any other player worth their salt come to training camp out of shape. I’m sure they worked all summer staying in shape. I also think they needed to adjust their regimens of staying in shape because of not knowing when or if there would be a season. Staying in shape during the summer has to do with working out, rest and diet. When they know for sure when the season will start they have a routine for doing this. In addition, since Ray and KG came here, and I think before, the Celtics usually reported to Waltham a month before training camp started. They assimilated with new players, got to know each other on and off the court, etc. New players learned what it took to get ready for an NBA season. This year I think the players were in shape, but never got the chance to get into game shape which is an entirely different thing.
In addition to the above Pierce injured his heal before training camp. He could not do anything that would help him stay in shape, much less get into game shape. And it doesn’t take long to get out of shape when this happens.
Larry Bird was also a fanatic at staying in shape. He worked out all summer. Before training camp he would take time off to purposely get out of shape so that when camp started he would be seen by his teammates as working as hard as the others.
He was setting an example. The point here is that it didn’t take him long to get out of shape.
So whether or not Pierce was or was not in shape has no bearing on anything. He eventually did play himself into shape. Lately he has not been himself. I don’t think it has anything to do with not being in shape. I really think he is hurt. If not, the chemistry of the team could be the reason. Even thought the 4 starters from the last few years are together, the change at Center could very well be throwing everything off, at least for the starters.
"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird
"Criminally Negligent Officiating"--Tommy Heinsohn
I agree with your assessement of the Pierce Rondo power struggle
and I also agree about Pierce’s turnovers etc. However, I think Pierce has earned the right to retire as a Celtic. He is the 2nd leading scorer in Celtic history. So even though he’s stinking up the joint right now I only trade him if HE wants to be traded.
Will I be a Celtic Fan after 3/15 - that is the question
Go ahead Danny trade Paul Pierce…
The Truth has more than EARNED his “retire as a Celtic Legend” status! #2 all-time Celtic scorer, Finals MVP, Ring #17.
If that loyalty doesn’t exist in today’s Celtic organization, then Celtic Pride has died like the rest of the NBA!
Celtic Chat Handle: Bird
Does rondo? He broke the assists per season record, the steals record. On pace to brake the overall assists record. All star, valuable contributor to banner 17.
Why does pierce get the loyalty speech but everyone wants rondo out yesterday. He isn’t paid the max contract..
I’m being worn out by the loyalty speech. Name one cowboy fan that cared when smith played in Arizona. 1 9er fan that Montana was a chief. Bobby hull & gordie howe where whalers at one point, do people remember them as Hartford players? Gretzky was an Indianapolis Racer to start his pro career, if only they had loyalty! It’s the same people that say keep this team that will complain when they win 20 games, “they should have rebuilded earlier”
Last time
I was actually shocked when the Oilers traded Gretzky, after that nothing shocks me, LOL!
Ricky Williams retired....Cue up Bob Marley,
"Excuse me while I light my spliff"...
by Great Gatsby on Mar 2, 2012 10:23 AM EST up reply actions
enuff with the trades already
I don’t think any of the big 4 will be traded, No one is willing to give us value for them so danny is better off letting the contracts expire. If necessary he can amnesty pierce next year. No one is going to offer anything good for pierce, ray , KG or Rondo because the C’s have no leverage right now. The only way I’d would trade these guys would be if they asked for a trade or if it becomes clear that we’re betting off tanking than trying to make the playoffs. If that’s the case and we could improve our draft position then I trade these guys provided I don’t take back any long term contracts.
just for curiousity reasons..
If moving pierce for less value means you get the 1st or second pick, would you? Let’s say Chicago gives up the bobcats pick along with random contracts. But because of it. The celtics don’t make the playoffs, and fall lower in the standings. And they end up with the second pick. Would you do that?
Can't Depend On First Pick
1. Look at the Center (can’t even remember his name [got it in time_Oden]) picked by Portland ahead of Durant.
2. A similar situation occurred in the year Jordan was picked after a Center was picked by another team. He never really played
3. The above examples are where #1 picks didn’t work out because of injury. Also, remember the infamous Joe Barry Carroll. The Celts had the #1 pick that year. Red traded the pick for the 3rd pick and Robert Parrish. Joe Barry Carroll was picked first and turned out to be a dud.
The moral of the story is trading a known player for an unknown does not necessarily work out. I would not trade Pierce or any other major player for a draft pick unless there were other reasons.
"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird
"Criminally Negligent Officiating"--Tommy Heinsohn
your correct
Ainge seems to be able to find value in the draft.. and I know he has struck out..
When was the last deep draft? Is the 4th pick getting you horford or does it mean you get van horn?
But I think in this draft class + how the team has played…you take that chance
Referring to JBC as a dud is a little harsh.
Ten years in the NBA, averaged 18 pts, 8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks in 32 minutes of play. The real problem was Golden States management making that deal. They could have had Parrish and McHale.
I want everyone to go. The ultimate goal is to win a title, especially when you have a team of veterans and this team is not a championship team. We as Celtics fans can dream about “if we get to the playoffs healthy maybe we have a shot”, but it isn’t happening. This team needs to get blown up now and for the future. I want whatever we can get for any player currently on this team. I can’t watch them any longer knowing they have no shot. I want Pierce to retire a Celtic from an emotional standpoint but from a business stance I want what’s best for the teams name on the front of the jersey not the back. Go Celtics, let’s start the transition.
Please
Trade Rondo but not anyone of the Big 3. I still want to be a Celtic Fan.
Pierce = age + Big$ = no trade
I just don’t see a Pierce deal. Young guys are cheap and Paul’s contract is large. No contract match up here. The principal issue with Pierce trade is contract matchup. Look at all the rumors….who is going to trade a superstar for Pierce? The Celtics need a solid veteran next year to balance the new players coming in.
2013 Pierce + Rondo + Green plus two max and two first rounders. Should be able to get something out of that group.
I disagree with Pierce for anyone unless there is a sensible contract matchup and I don’t see anyone.
KG is $20M…how the he%& are you going to trade that?
Ray is a possibility, but, you need a desperate trade partner.
I know you can't compare but it's like we trade Larry bird.
PP bleed green and he never ask a trade when the Celtics was in the bottom. Or because he want to play with his body’s like James…
If Pierce is Dealt, it could go like this
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=8×7nkpf
Boston/Atlanta/Houston/Minnisota trade
Minnisota also gets Boston’s 1st rd. Pk. (from clippers) and Boston’s 2nd rd. Pick.
by christopher.landers1 on Mar 3, 2012 1:22 AM EST reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
NBA Playoffs Content Module
Related FanPosts on CelticsBlog
Related FanShots on CelticsBlog
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Kendrick Perkins does not think much of Andrew Bynum’s relative intelligence
- Behind the Box Score, where the Boston Celtics are moving on to the conference finals
- NBA Playoffs Fan Fiction: San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- The Indiana Pacers? Gone till November
- Shaquille O’Neal is in a Chinese beer commercial, too (VIDEO)
