Paul Pierce Interview (Ray's Departure, Knee Update, etc.)

For all you diehards, I recommend watching this interview with Paul Pierce over on Celtics.com.

Some highlights include his honest but respectful thoughts on Ray Allen leaving (he says he's "a little bitter" with a chuckle but still thinks of him as a brother) as well as his thoughts on the rest of the offseason moves.

There's also the much requested update on his knee.

Pierce: Ray Allen 'still a brother of mine' - Boston Celtics Blog - ESPN Boston

"The knee is a lot better. It’s not completely healed, but I figure I’m about 90 percent now," said Pierce. "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."

I don't think that knee issue is ever going to fully go away and will likely lead to his eventual retirement, but we can at least hope that he can keep maintaining it long enough to give us another year or two of high level play.