Boston Celtics: Sentimentality Over Practically Could Hurt Future

Throughout last season, the Boston Celtics did an excellent job of flying under the radar and slowly rebuilding their team to one day contend again in the East. In fact, that rebuild started the previous year with the hiring of head coach Brad Stevens from Butler.

The now 38-year-old got off to an expectedly rocky start, the combination of him jumping to the pros and not having a ton to work with leading to the poor, but expected, season.

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Last season brought with it some real progress however. The team was moving along nicely, but again mostly out of sight, amassing a ton of draft picks and carving open cap space for a brighter future in the not too distant future. They had shed themselves of former All-Star Rajon Rondo, and looked primed to rebuild over a number of years.

Then at the trade deadline that made a move to pick up point guard Isaiah Thomas, and the makeup of this organization suddenly changed.

From there, the team went 40-42, making it to the first round of the playoffs as the seventh seed before being swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Suddenly this was no long-term rebuild, the future was coming sooner than anticipated. Why this is relevant right now though, is because it’s clear the Celtics are pushing forward and into an exciting new future.

A future that has no time for the past, and former idol Paul Pierce.

If you haven’t heard by now, there’s rumblings that Pierce may return to the team he made his name with and helped win a championship in 2008. This is dependant on a number of things, the most important being the Boston somehow convinces Kevin Love to leave the Cavaliers and join them.

At this moment in time that would seem unlikely, Cleveland surely represents Love’s best chance at winning a title in the short term at least. There’s also this moment from the two team’s playoff duel that’s worth remembering too, even if all parties have moved forward with their lives since that incident.

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But if it were to happen, how does selling Love on playing with a 37-year-old former NBA Finals MVP help them in the long term? Pierce had some huge moments last season with the Washington Wizards, most notably a game-winning effort against the Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the playoffs.

Although playing only 26.2 minutes a game during the regular season, a career low, he still started in 73 games for the team.

Once the playoffs rolled around he upped his minutes total (29.8 mpg) and also his scoring (11.9 ppg during the regular season to 14.6 ppg in the playoffs). Clearly he still has something to give to a contending team then, one that can call upon his services at crunch time, where he clearly delivers.

But that’s the issue here, the Celtics are not a contending team. Even if they were to add Love and Robin Lopez (another rumored target), the Celtics would still have a tough time defeating the Cavaliers, Hawks, Chicago Bulls and even the Washington Wizards in seven games. Pierce has only one year remaining on his contract, but also has a player option he can exercise too.

The Washington Post reported this week that Pierce has already decided to opt out of the final year of a deal that would pay him just more than $5 million.

But the Celtics are on the cusp of a new area of being one of the elite teams in the East. They have that first taste of postseason action with their current crop, and will have no issues convincing potential free agents to play for arguably the most storied franchise in the league.

Throw in those aforementioned draft picks and a nice young core, and you have to ask if there’s really a need for Pierce?

The fans would love it sure, and they’d sell a truck load of jerseys. But isn’t it better to have the memories of Pierce the great player, as opposed to potentially Pierce, the great player who went on a season too long?

In Thomas, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, Jared Sullinger and Avery Bradley this team has the necessary pieces to add high level free agents to, or else package together for some a bigger star.

Indeed, if this team could lure a high volume scorer to pair with the defensive minded Smart and Bradley, as well as the scoring kick off the bench Thomas already gives, this team would seriously be going places. Is there really a need for Pierce to come off the bench in that environment and fade before our eyes?

Not to compare Pierce to the one and only Michael Jordan, but I think we’re all in agreement that we’d like to forget the Washington Wizards era at the absolute tail end of the career of “His Airness.” With Pierce and a possible Celtics return, it could quickly turn into their own version of that still sour tasting event in time.

Coming at it from another angle, do the real Celtics fans out there want to see Pierce spend his final years on a team that likely won’t compete for a title? Of all the beloved one team players in this league who eventually moved on, Pierce had the backing of most to succeed in Washington as long as it was not as the expense of Boston.

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Wouldn’t it be nicer to see him possibly win another title elsewhere?

Others think it would be fun to see Pierce back doing his thing is a Celtics jersey, a great way for him to spend what may be his last season in the league. You have to remember though, that these things are more fun in theory. The reality could more likely be an aging former great dragging himself up and down the court every night for 25 minutes a game.

It tarnishes the great memories that already exist, there is no need to dilute them with a return.

This is all very negative talk though, so let’s flip the scenario a little. If Pierce were to return and played exactly as he did last season, hitting big shots and generally stepping up at the end of games, that would be great wouldn’t it? To some extent yes, to see the Pierce of old rocking TD Garden would be a ton of fun.

But looking at the long-term picture, would it not take minutes and playing time away from a younger guy who will be around to help the team after Pierce has retired?

Of course the counter argument to that is that Pierce would be a great locker room veteran for the young guys on the team to learn from. Also true, but to me it feels like trying to recreate magic that was enjoyed once before, and should be left that way, as a happy memory. Ray Allen still hasn’t technically retired, can he be brought in as a role player too for his second tour of duty?

That Celtics team is now nothing more than a happy memory, and it should remain that way. This current Boston squad is in the midst of trying to create it’s own history. In Danny Ainge, this team also has a president of basketball operations who has a proven track record of quickly turning this team into a contender.

With the young talent and bevy of draft picks in hand, don’t be surprised if this team pulls of some major moves this summer. It would just be best for all involved if Paul Pierce wasn’t a part of the struggle to get back to the top. He’ll be gone by the time this team sees any really returns on his time with the team.

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