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Paul Pierce’s Impact Will Be Felt This Season Still

By Josh Wilson

May 9, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce (34) celebrates with injured Wizards guard John Wall (L) and Washington Wizards forward Martell Webster (M) after making the game-winning basket against the Atlanta Hawks as time expired in the fourth quarter in game three of the second round of the NBA Playoffs. at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 103-101. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
May 9, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce (34) celebrates with injured Wizards guard John Wall (L) and Washington Wizards forward Martell Webster (M) after making the game-winning basket against the Atlanta Hawks as time expired in the fourth quarter in game three of the second round of the NBA Playoffs. at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 103-101. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Paul Pierce departed the Washington Wizards this offseason, in a seemingly premature manner. Just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone. He declined his player option, making him am unrestricted free agent following a year in which he averaged just less than 12 points per game.

His playoff worth was even more, at 14.6 points per game.

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Wizards supporters were hopeful that Pierce had declined the option to stick with Washington but make some extra cash (re-working a new contract with the team), but it looks like that wasn’t the case.

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Sure, Pierce could have considered that option when he was looking into what he should do with his free agency, but he ultimately decided to take his career to his hometown — a trend that Wizards fans hopes hits a certain star this upcoming offseason — despite nearly doubling the offer the Clippers gave him.

Reportedly, John Wall wasn’t too shocked that the Clippers swayed Pierce, so I’m not worried about the Wizards losing ground in the Eastern Conference this year. The team signed some quality veteran players this offseason as well. While they don’t make up for the star that Pierce was, they certainly are much better than nothing.

His first-hand impact as a Wizard was quite short lived. Just one short season with the team and he was gone. It was great having him, as he was a huge reason they won a few games in the playoffs.

Despite the first-hand impact from Pierce being gone, the second-hand is still there, and will continue to be there for at least this season. Colby Giacubeno of Wiz Of Awes recorded in a recent post that he set Otto Porter up nicely to succeed this year.

Pierce was used as a stretch 4 last season, and as Colby notes, opened up a spot for a small forward to come up and take charge of his destiny. Otto Porter Jr. may not have been even close to where he is at now without Pierce moving to the 4 spot.

In other ways, his impact will be felt. The Wizards will be making the playoffs next season, that much I’m sure of. As they do, an absent spot will be clear in the locker room, the presence of Pierce.

When they’re entering the final minutes of close postseason games, there will be that slight moment where we wonder if Pierce will be taking the shot. Of course, he can’t, but other willing hands are there to take the shots.

Pierce’s mentoring is over. The Wizards are now transitioning from being one of the young teams in the league to being one of the smarter, wiser, and older teams in the league. Still, they’re young compared to some other squads, but I believe Pierce’s one year with the team was the middle, the break between two eras.

With the push he gave the team, they’ll be boosted into their next era with Wall and Beal, and the other young guys on the team.

In many cases, star basketball players weren’t recognized as stars until their safety net was taken away. Charles Barkley wasn’t the sole leader of the Philadelphia 76ers until the guys he learned under — Julius Erving, Moses Malone among them — were no longer there. When Barkley was on his own without those two, his first season, he scored more than 28 points per game.

Sure, Pierce leaving probably won’t spark anything like this in the Wizards players, but still, it just goes to show that the impact of a player can be felt for years after they depart a team.

The point is, Pierce had a huge impact on the team, and I think you would be hard pressed to find another one-year player that stirred up so much in a team.

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