Los Angeles Clippers Can Offer Paul Pierce Storybook Ending to His NBA Career
The legacy is pretty much set: a championship in 2008, 10 All-Star appearances and a well-deserved reputation as one of the game's most cold-blooded closers. All that's left for Paul Pierce is the chance to taste victory one more time, an opportunity to add a few more defining moments to an otherwise complete career.
The question is where, with whom, in what context?
The Washington Post's Jorge Castillo reported Saturday that "Pierce has decided to play next season but is expected to bypass his $5.5 million player option, according to two people with knowledge of the situation."
What comes next remains a matter of speculation. But past guesswork has regularly centered around the possibility of Pierce teaming up with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan (should he return) for a proper title run.
As Castillo adds, "The most probable destination outside of the District would be to go back home to play for the Los Angeles Clippers and reunite with Doc Rivers, his coach for nine seasons with the Boston Celtics."
Other suitors could conceivably enter the fray, but let's keep things simple. Until reports point in any other directions, the Clippers and Washington Wizards appear to be the front-runners for Pierce's services. Both are among their conference's best teams, and both have ties to the 37-year-old—including L.A.'s Inglewood area, where Pierce was raised and attended high school.
Pierce would have to take a paycut to join the Clippers, who can only offer him a $3.37 million mini mid-level exception. Washington could theoretically give Pierce a raise over the $5.5 million option he's set to turn down.
With over $190 million in career NBA earnings, however, this decision will probably come down to other considerations—considerations that should point toward a Hollywood ending.
The Role
Pierce may not carry the same minutes he once did, but he's proved he can still produce at a high level for a good team. The 17-year veteran averaged 11.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 26.2 minutes per game last season—perfectly suitable output for a complementary veteran on the downside of his career.
From the Clippers' perspective, the more interesting number may be the 14.6 points Pierce averaged through 10 postseason games. He made an impressive 52.4 percent of his three-point attempts during that span, raising his game as he has so many times before.
Los Angeles could use that kind of clutch, an extra weapon on the offensive end to deflect some attention away from Paul, Griffin and shooting guard J.J. Redick. The team could have used it last season too—and it almost got it. As Castillo notes:
"Pierce nearly joined the Clippers last summer but Rivers, also the organization’s president of basketball operations, elected to give the Clippers' entire midlevel exception to center Spencer Hawes. The move was a debacle and Hawes, along with Matt Barnes, was traded to the Charlotte Hornets for swingman Lance Stephenson last week. Rivers then revealed he prefers Stephenson coming off the bench and is in the market for a starting small forward. That is where Pierce would slot.
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So while Pierce would sacrifice money with the Clippers, he wouldn't have to sacrifice a starting job—a role he's occupied his entire career.
Pierce's ability to space the floor and make intelligent plays would certainly endear him to such a job. It's not hard to imagine him excelling as a third or fourth option in L.A.'s high-powered offense. He wouldn't replicate Barnes' frenetic defense, but he would be a much steadier presence on the offensive end.
Already the league's most efficient offense, one can only be intrigued by the prospect of adding another playmaker who can shoot and make the right pass alike. Truth be told, the Clippers could probably use a more defensively minded swingman—a three-and-D specialist like free agent Danny Green.
| Off. Rtg | Def. Rtg | Ast. Ratio | Reb % | TS % | PACE | |
| Wizards | 101.8 | 100.0 | 18.3 | 51.7 | 53.4 | 95.96 |
| Clippers | 109.8 | 103.0 | 18.8 | 49.8 | 56.5 | 96.96 |
From Pierce's perspective, however, the Clippers are a playground for his still-respectable skills. They play with pace and poise, a well-oiled machine fueled by the game's best all-around floor general. John Wall has worked wonders in Washington, but the Clippers are significantly better at putting the ball in the basket.
What better destination for a professional scorer like Pierce?
It helps that Rivers and Pierce have worked together extensively over the course of nine seasons and that they won a title together in 2008. Rivers knows how to utilize Pierce, and those ties go far deeper than whatever rapport Pierce has established with Wizards head coach Randy Wittman.
Rivers wouldn't restore Pierce's long-departed superstar production, but he'd milk the veteran for all he's worth—and win a whole lot of games in the process.
The Reward
Washington's championship hopes aren't entirely negligible. In many respects, the road to the NBA Finals is markedly easier in the Eastern Conference.
That said, it's hard to argue the Wizards have any edge over the Cleveland Cavaliers or Chicago Bulls. If Pierce elects to remain in place, it will likely have to do with a different kind of reward—namely the satisfaction of being a glorified consultant for one of the league's young up-and-coming franchises.
"I'm just thankful I was able to have an influence on this group, give something to them hopefully," Pierce told reporters as his season came to an end. "Whether I'm here next year or I'm not, I've left something here with these young guys that they can carry on the rest of their career—understanding what it's like to be a pro, understanding what it’s going to take to take your game and your career to the next level. Hopefully that's something I've given them, and they understand it and move forward with it."
The mentor role suits Pierce just fine. He still gets to make some big shots. He still steals a few headlines. But this is a capacity in which many of Pierce's contributions go largely unnoticed. Relatively speaking, it's the quiet way out.
Another championship would speak far more loudly. And there's little doubt the Clippers offer a better opportunity in that respect. Had they not entered their conference semifinal series battered, bruised and exhausted, a conference finals appearance may well have been in the offing. And if any club could have kept pace with the Golden State Warriors, it might have been L.A.
Rivers' operation has cemented its status as a serious contender in a crowded Western Conference, and a couple of upgrades—Stephenson and perhaps Pierce—could be the difference this time. It's an alluring situation for a veteran pursuing some residual glory before it's too late.
The Clippers are an ideal landing spot for a ring-chaser, and that could be too much for Pierce to pass up.
There is one drawback to chasing the ring so shamelessly, and that's the reputation that comes with it. Pierce could well extend his legacy with a few timely shots, just as former teammate Ray Allen did with the Miami Heat. But make no mistake—it's a title-or-bust proposition.
Without the 2013 championship, Allen's decision to team with Miami would have been a high-profile failure—this decade's version of the Los Angeles Lakers' experiment with Karl Malone and Gary Payton.
Pierce won't find that kind of scrutiny in Washington, and that's the one caveat associated with heading West. It's probably the right career move—and it's probably more likely to yield a title—but it would come with no shortage of attention.
Maybe Pierce wouldn't have it any other way. If he can shoulder the renewed burden of legitimately pursuing a championship, this is a no-brainer. Fulfilling as the Yoda routine may have been in Washington, one can't help but think this guy still has enough competitive fire to do big things in the perennially brutal Western Conference race.
It doesn't hurt that home is where the heart is. It's just so much better when home also has credible odds of winning a Larry O'Brien Trophy.
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