paul pierce celtics
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Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce.
Paul Pierce was confident in his personal script as he chatted on the phone. He’d been to the gym and market and was about to fire up the grill under the 90-degree California sunshine.
Looks like another perfect day. He loves L.A.
In a few weeks, however, there will be far less certainty and perfection when Pierce — No. 2 on the Boston Celtics’ all-time scoring list, No. 34 in the TD Garden rafters — returns to his second home to check out training camp and New England autumn.
“They look a whole lot different than last year at this time, that’s for sure,” said Pierce of the Celtics, who entered 2024-25 the favorite to repeat as NBA champion and exited a disappointment.
The latter status was achieved even before Jayson Tatum went down and out with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon, but Pierce believes the roster was destined for change even if the star’s summertime footwear didn’t include an orthopedic boot. The trades of starters Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis were fated by finance.
“I’m not sure if that injury played a big role in the changes, because I feel like they still would have been in the same situation even if Tatum didn’t get hurt, you know, as far as luxury tax and the second apron and all of those things,” Pierce said to Heavy on Celtics. “Whether he’s hurt or not, I think they would have had to still make these decisions.
“But I do think it made it easier to make them. Like, let’s say Jayson’s healthy and they won the championship. Then if you break it up, it’s like, what are we doing? So I think it made it easier to make those moves with Jrue and Porzingis and all that.”
Paul Pierce Said the Celtics ‘Blew’ the Series Against the Knicks
What was hard for Pierce and Celtic followers was watching the club squander the second round series against the Knicks. The C’s were about to fall into 3-1 arrears when Tatum was helped off the Madison Square Garden floor. They trailed by nine points with 2:58 left after leading by 14 a quarter earlier.
“Yeah, I think they blew that series,” Pierce told Heavy on Celtics. “Absolutely. They had 20-point leads in the first two games — at home — and they lost them both? Yeah, they blew that series. That had nothing to do with the Knicks’ talent and all that.
“But a lot of that goes on the way they play, too. Because they’ve been a team over the last few years that’s given up big leads because they settle for the 3. You know, you live by it, you die by it. But when you win a championship, what you gonna say? What you gonna say, tell them to play something different, take it in more when this is how they won? That’s who they are.”
Paul Pierce Said About the New Celtics Owners: ‘There’s Always Going to Be Changes’
And while Pierce seems almost resigned to that situation, he is accepting, too, of the Celtics’ dramatic roster changes that have coincided with the arrival of new lead owner Bill Chisholm. The financial and maneuverability constraints of the NBA’s second apron were about to come crashing down on the franchise, no matter whose name was atop the organizational chart. Putting off the pain didn’t seem like a viable path after Tatum’s tumble and the New York noogie. Changes were coming.
“You know what? That’s normal,” Pierce said. “Like, think about this: when Wyc (Grousbeck) and the new ownership came in there, what did they do? Trades, new coach, everything. That’s sports. I don’t care what type of team you got; whenever you’ve got new ownership, there’s always going to be changes. That’s what I learned in this business. I expected that.
“Then as far as them getting rid of Jrue and Porzingis, you know they’re trying to cut costs and things of that nature — which is understandable. They’re business people, too.”
Pierce had a quick courtside introduction to Chisholm, and he’s looking forward to growing the relationship.
“The thing I love though is the group that’s there, they’re from Boston,” he said. “Just like Wyc and that ownership group loved the team, these guys are the same, and I have no doubt they’re going to do everything they can to continue the tradition, to continue what they’ve got going.”
In terms of 2025-26, expectations are, uh… elusive.
“You now, it’s hard to really gauge it because of the Tatum injury and seeing what’s left. But I think they can get better,” Pierce told Heavy. “We’re not better than a year ago, based on what we lost. You lose three starters with Tatum, Jrue and Porzingis, you’re not going to be as good.
“So although going into training camp it’s going to be like, hey, we can still win a championship, I mean, every team preaches they’re a championship team whether they are or not. That’s just what training camp is.
“But I think this is an evaluation year for us. I think you’ve gotta just start evaluating, you know, who’s going to be here longer term and who’s not. I think every year is like that when you don’t win. You know (Jaylen) Brown and Tatum are going to be here, then after that it’s like, we’re evaluating everybody else. Who knows?”
At this point, New England weather seems more predictable.