Paul Pierce was recently signed to a contract with the Boston Celtics and he will retire with the team he started his professional career with. For Pierce, it all started in 1998 when the Celtics selected him with the 10th overall pick in the draft. The small forward went on to play 15 seasons for the team, and he became one of the greatest players to ever wear the green uniform.
Even though he played for the Brooklyn Nets, the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Clippers after Boston, everyone knows where Pierce belongs and where he wanted to retire.
The former All-Star loves Boston and he believes that the Celtics could finally dethrone LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers, which is something that hasn't been done in a long time.
Paul Pierce believes in his team
Last time the Celtics eliminated LeBron James was in 2010 as they knocked the Cleveland Cavaliers out in six games. After that, James knocked the Celtics out two straight times as a Miami Heat player. He also eliminated Paul Pierce when he was Pierce was on the Brooklyn Nets.
These playoff matchups created a rivalry between Pierce and LeBron and it is not a secret that, even though they respect each other's game, they are not very fond of each other.
“I like the whole squad, man.
It’s time to dethrone LeBron (James) in the East. We back. We back,” said Paul Pierce via MassLive.
Oddly enough, the Celtics are a better team mostly because of the trade that sent Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets. This year, Boston ended up making the conference finals while also getting the first overall pick in the draft, one they acquired from the trade.
The Celtics ended up trading the pick to the Philadelphia 76ers, but they received the third overall pick in return, which they used to pick Jayson Tatum.
Do the Celtics have a chance?
The Celtics managed to sign Gordon Hayward this summer and will not have a trio of Hayward, Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford. They will also have a few great players, such as Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
However, it is not very likely they'll be able to dethrone LeBron James as the Cavaliers are still a much better team.
Despite these amazing additions to the team, the Celtics lost Avery Bradley as they had to trade him in order to clear cap space for Hayward. Considering how amazing Bradley's defense is, this move might be costly in the long run. LeBron has made NBA Finals seven straight times and if the Celtics don't further improve, he will make it eight.
