The Truth will be going out on his own terms.
10-time All-Star Paul Pierce told SiriusXM NBA Radio on Wednesday that he plans to sign a one-day deal to retire as a Boston Celtic after the season, per Chris Forsberg of ESPN.
Paul Pierce to @SiriusXMNBA on plan to sign one-day deal with Celtics before retiring next summer: pic.twitter.com/yaWzes0uFj
— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) October 12, 2016
The 39-year-old Pierce will play out the 2016-17 campaign with the Los Angeles Clippers but has already announced his intention to retire after the season. Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, who also coached Pierce in Boston, recently said that the team does indeed have a plan in place to allow the 18-year veteran to retire as a Celtic, and it’s only fitting.
Pierce was drafted by the Celtics in 1998 and played there for 15 seasons, earning Finals MVP honors during the team’s 2008 championship run. He is the Celtics’ second all-time leading scorer and was the undisputed face of Boston basketball for the better part of the 2000s.
After an offseason where we witnessed Kobe Bryant retire with the Los Angeles Lakers, Tim Duncan retire with the San Antonio Spurs, and Pierce’s former teammate Kevin Garnett retire with the Minnesota Timberwolves, this sort of exit just feels right for Pierce.
