Best Quotes, Highlights of Paul Pierce-Kevin Garnett Brooklyn Nets Introduction

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are officially members of the Brooklyn Nets, first presser under their belt and everything.

Pierce wasted no time paying further homage to the Boston Celtics, per ESPN blogger Chris Hooker:

Garnett shared similar sentiments, via ESPN's Jared Zwerling:

Nothing we didn't know already, of course.

For Pierce this is especially difficult, considering he spent 15 years in a Celtics uniform. He is, however, excited for what awaits now that he is in Brooklyn:

The same goes for Kevin Garnett, who appeared genuinely enthused, per Andy Vasquez of The Record, to begin his time as a member of the Nets, and made it clear that he would embrace this opportunity, via the Nets' official Twitter feed:

Throughout most of the press conference, though, Pierce wasn't exactly smiling, lamenting his departure from Boston a number of times. Just take a look at these tweets from NBA on ESPN and Hardwood Paroxysm:

Can't say I blame him. Again, 15 years is a long time.

But like Pierce said, it's time to move on. And he plans to move on, all the while contending for a championship:

Before they can legitimately rival the Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers and the rest of the Eastern Conference, the Nets are going to have to familiarize themselves with one another.

Lost on no one is how important chemistry is to moving forward, especially Garnett.

He also talked about animals and dark masters, per Brooklyn's Finest (ESPN's Nets blog):

Make of that what you will.

Don't forget, this wasn't just about Garnett and Pierce; Jason Terry was there too. He wasted no time trying to get on his new coach/former teammate's good side:

No seriously, he was making Jason Kidd blush:

Pierce may have scored some brownie points for making this whole thing possible. Afterward, he revealed that it was actually him who convinced Garnett to waive his no-trade clause and join the Nets, via Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated:

On the subject of returning to Boston as a member of the visiting team, Pierce said he has already pictured it and that every time he does, he envisions tears being involved, per ESPN's Chris Forsberg:

There were no tears being shed by the end of the presser. Pierce actually appeared a little less resigned and far more encouraged by what's to come:

As if the talent sitting around The Truth wasn't enough to inevitably sway him, Nets owner Mikhail "My Pockets Are So Much Deeper Than Yours" Prokhorov made a surprise appearance, via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

Clearly that sealed the deal, as it was all smiles in Brooklyn (even Pierce) by the time the cameras started flashing again.

Now all that's left to see is if those smiles parlay into authentic happiness and, ultimately, an NBA championship.