Several contending teams have inquired about Paul Pierce’s availability
The Big Three could be broken up sooner than we expected. Several teams have contacted Danny Ainge about Celtics captain Paul Pierce's availability.Sure, it's still early, but with a shortened NBA season, things just aren't looking good for the Boston Celtics.
Five straight losses and a 4-8 record. Time to panic? You bet it is.
So here's the million dollar question: Is it time to break up the Big Three? Yahoo Sports Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the time may come sooner, rather than later for the Celtics to start rebuilding.
Several contending teams have inquired about (Paul) Pierce’s availability. As one Eastern Conference official said, there are “lots of calls asking if [Boston] will blow it up.”
After the 2011-12 season, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen reach the end of their deals. Those big salaries will come off the books, opening a ton of space for the Celtics to make moves.
With the Celtics on a five game losing streak, it's no surprise that teams are calling Danny Ainge to try to make a deal for captain Paul Pierce, who has two years, $32 million left on his contract.
Moving him for a shorter deal could make the Celtics a huge player in free agency the next two years. As Boston officials contend, this is the reason they didn’t re-sign Perkins and Tony Allen to long-term contracts. They’ve been preparing for the time their core became too old, for the team’s need to start over.
While trading Pierce has probably crossed Ainge's mind with the March 15 trade deadline not too far off, boston.com thinks that the Celtics have options that don't necessarily involve saying goodbye to the Celtics captain.
The Celtics may be able to rebuild with Pierce, make the playoffs, and still look toward the future.
So maybe it's not completely necessary to "blow up" the team. Pierce has had a great career in Boston and I think I have to agree with option number two. I think it would be in the Celtics best interest to keep the captain and rebuild around him.
Maybe the Celtics are entertaining offers for Pierce, I wouldn't blame them for doing that. But this could play out like the Rajon Rondo trade rumors did, with nothing happening in the end. Who knows, maybe this will be an eye-opener for the Celtics and maybe they'll start winning games.