When the Nets moved to Brooklyn last year, many of the players kept their homes in New Jersey, trading the inconvenience of a longer commute to work for the comfort of a suburban home life.
Paul Pierce is going all-in, though. The former Celtic who was traded to the Nets this summer has moved to Brooklyn in more ways than one, relocating his family to the borough and becoming a part of the community, just as he did in Boston.
“My family loves it, loving the city,” Pierce told DIME magazine. “They’ve taken to the crowds, to the restaurants. It seems like a good adjustment.”
Pierce, his wife and their three children looked at the trade as an opportunity for an “experience,” Pierce said. He has figured out the traffic that gave him trouble immediately after the trade and hopes to recreate the type of winning culture he helped continue and re-establish with the Celtics.
“I think Brooklyn, they’re setting the foundation,” Pierce said. “So they can be in the category with the Yankees, with the Celtics, or the Lakers some day. I think the foundation the ownership is setting is bringing the fans back to Brooklyn. They want to win. That’s the only thing — you have to have ownership, you have to put together ownership and the people that’s really excited about winning.”
Pierce was traded to Brooklyn, along with Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry, in July as part of an eight-player, three-draft-pick trade after 15 years with the Celtics. The 35-year-old will make $15.3 million this season in the final year of his contract.
