Days after deciding to opt out of his final contract year, Paul Pierce has decided to extend his career with the only team he's ever known, the Boston Celtics. Multiple sources have indicated that Pierce and the team agreed on a four year, $61 million dollar deal. It will keep Pierce with the C's until he's 37, likely the end of his career.
It's the second domino to fall in what appears to be the reconstruction of the same Boston team that came within inches of winning the NBA title last season. Even if Celtics president Danny Ainge had wanted to try and rebuild the team, he did not have the salary cap space that several other teams have and, therefore, could not lure an impact free agent better than Pierce. Any illusions of moving on left for good when Doc Rivers announced his return as coach and said he would like to make another title run with the same group.
The first step to that was re-signing Pierce who elected to opt out of one more year, which would've paid him $21 million. By taking a discount for this season, the longtime Celtic bought himself longterm security as there is expected to be a new collective bargaining agreement in place before next offseason. The only sticking point between the two sides was regarding the fourth year of the deal.
Pierce understandably wanted a guaranteed fourth year, whereas the team was trying to convince him to take a mutual option for the fourth year. In the end, Pierce won out and it's not much of a surprise because there was no better option for Boston. Despite that, it still could be a contract that will hurt the C's on the tail end. At the beginning of next season, Pierce will turn 33, in the fourth and final year of his deal, he'll be 37 and still making $15 million.
Now the focus turns to the fourth member of the Big Three, Ray Allen. The veteran sharpshooter will draw a little bit more attention than Pierce because of the specific role he can serve, especially for a new contender. There will certainly be many of those after this summer. However, the best offer is still likely to come from the Celtics, at least dollar-wise, because of the Larry Bird rules. Plus, Allen has always appeared to be a loyal player to his franchise, and he's got significant roots in the New England area.
The only variable for change this offseason probably resides with the Celtics' bench. Rasheed Wallace has indicated he will retire, even though he has not officially announced anything to that effect yet. Glen Davis is the only bench player under contract and even a small upgrade in terms of their depth talent could make the difference for a repeated chase for an NBA championship.
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