Paul Pierce: Latest News, Rumors and Speculation on Clippers SF
Veteran forward Paul Pierce is signed with the Los Angeles Clippers through the 2017-18 season, according to Spotrac, and he reportedly doesn't expect to walk away from the game just yet.
Continue for updates.
Pierce Not Expected to Retire
Tuesday, Aug. 16
Pierce is planning on playing in the NBA for another season, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Daily News, although he added, "Pierce has wavered with his decision for most of the summer, and another change in plans wouldn’t be shocking."
The Los Angeles Times' Brad Turner, citing a source, reported on July 26 that "Pierce is planning on returning to the Clippers for the 2016-17 season, his 19th in the NBA."
Rivers Comments on Pierce's Future
Friday, July 29
"If Paul decides to retire, then we're going to make sure that Boston picks him up for one day and he retires a Celtic, because that's what he should retire as," Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said on The Vertical Podcast with Woj (h/t Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com). "So we have all that in place. We just don't know what he's going to do."
Rivers added that he believes Pierce is "going back and forth on it, and I want to give him room. I think he deserves it."
Pierce Comments on Future
Wednesday, June 8
Pierce, who has played 18 years in the NBA, told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe spoke about his retirement plan:
"Well, we always say it's 51-49. I get 51 percent of the vote and the rest of [the family] gets 49. [My wife's] input carried a lot of weight. We'll figure out some things. I know I don't want to be sitting at home, whatever I do, regardless. If I come back, it will be one more [season] and that will be it. No doubt. ...
People don't understand, I think a lot of guys retire because of what it takes to [get on the court] each season. You can take the grind once you are in it, but getting ready for the grind is the hard part.
"
Like most aging players, Pierce has had to deal with a decline in his numbers and a decrease in his role. After averaging 19.4 points per game with the Boston Celtics in 2011-12, Pierce has seen a drop in playing time and scoring:
| 2011-12 | Boston Celtics | 61 | 61 | 34.0 | 19.4 |
| 2012-13 | Boston Celtics | 77 | 77 | 33.4 | 18.6 |
| 2013-14 | Brooklyn Nets | 75 | 68 | 28.0 | 13.5 |
| 2014-15 | Washington Wizards | 73 | 73 | 26.2 | 11.9 |
| 2015-16 | Los Angeles Clippers | 68 | 38 | 18.1 | 6.1 |
The most drastic changes came in his first year with the Clippers, as he became more of a veteran scoring option off the bench on a team with headliners such as Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
If next season is a repeat of 2015-16, that might be too much for Pierce to handle.
"I thought I had one more good year [this past season], but obviously I didn't like how it all went with my role," he said, per Washburn. "I'm still just trying to figure it out. A lot has got to do with my role I'm going to play. To come back and sit 82 games, I don't know if I can do that."
Being a role player once again would be a lot to ask of Pierce, who was once one of the premier scorers in the league. This is a player who is 16th on the league's all-time scoring list and has averaged more than 19 points per game in 11 of his 18 seasons.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
