Having already shared his opinions about the Boston Celtics trading Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons, Celtics legend Paul Pierce isn’t ready to see his former team make another move he views as ill-advised.
Appearing as a guest on Podcast P with Paul George, Pierce expressed unease about the Celtics’ recent front office decisions, including trading away Kristaps Porziņģis in a multi-team deal. He acknowledged he’s starting to understand the business realities driving Boston’s front office under new ownership.
Even amid these roster shake-ups, the Hall of Famer insists there’s still a clear path forward for Boston—as long as Jaylen Brown remains untouched.
“As long as you got Tatum and Brown, you can figure out the other pieces,” Pierce said.
He drew parallels to how the Oklahoma City Thunder have built around MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, suggesting the Celtics should follow a similar blueprint by keeping their two stars and constructing the rest of the roster around them.
Pierce also voiced skepticism that the NBA will see many more “super teams” in the modern era.
“In the case of OKC, they’re gonna come up on this problem in a couple of years because you gotta pay Shai, he’s gonna make the super max, then you’ve gotta figure out what you’re giving [Jalen Williams], probably worth the max too,” Pierce said. “What about Chet? Then what are you going to do with the rest of these cats? It’s going to be the end of dynasties.”
Brown averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists last season for the Celtics. The 28-year-old former first-round pick underwent a successful right knee arthroscopic debridement procedure last week.
MassLive reported that the Celtics are weighing trade options involving their role players as free agency nears, aiming to stockpile assets and create financial flexibility to re-sign key veterans like Al Horford and Luke Kornet. However, Boston hasn’t ruled out entertaining offers for its star players, including Brown.