Paul Pierce‘s future is the No. 1 discussion topic among Celtics fans this offseason. The all-time great is only guaranteed to receive $5 million of his $15.3 million salary next season, and the team could get some salary cap relief by buying him out or an infusion of new talent by trading him.
Going off a hunch, a longtime Celtics observer does not think Pierce will be back.
“I don’t think they will [bring Pierce back],” Celtics sideline reporter Greg Dickerson said on CSNNE. “And I know that the company that Paul Pierce hangs around in, they do not believe — and I don’t think Paul Pierce believes — that he is going to be brought back next year at $15 million. I know for a fact that people around Paul Pierce have pretty much resigned themselves to the fact that he’s played his final game in a Boston Celtics uniform.
“Again, Paul wants to stay — obviously, for $15 million, but he wants to finish his career in a Celtics uniform.”
If Pierce is bought out, waived or traded, Dickerson does not expect Kevin Garnett to be back, either. At least two teams could be interested in trading for Garnett, Dickerson said, but those would probably be limited to the Clippers and Lakers.
