Thou Shalt not Trade the Truth



Check it out, it must be somewhere there, deep in one of the chapters dedicated to the laws and rights of the Boston Celtics book of legend:

Chapter 34, line 15:

Thou shalt not trade the Truth

There are many more than 26864 reasons not to even think about trading Paul Pierce. You must have known this for as long as 45773 minutes that he has spent on the floor wearing the Celtics green.


Paul Pierce has been a member of the Boston Celtics for the last 15 years. To put you into perspective: When Danny Ainge arrived here, Paul had already spent four seasons playing for three different coaches: Pitino, O'Brien and Carroll. In his rookie season he shared the locker room with players such as Popeye Jones and Bruce Bowen was a Celtic.

Way before Doc Rivers became the coach of your Boston Celtics, Paul Pierce had been reborn after being stabbed 11 times. Two years after he was an All Star, carrying his team with lots of guts to the Eastern Finals in 2002.

Paul Pierce is among the top 3 All Time Celtics players in almost every category. Do you want me to continue or is it enough?

Pierce is simply one of the best players in the history of this franchise. Among the best in the definitely best franchise ever.

And still some people are thinking about dealing him West. Talk about nonsense.

Even at age 35, Pierce is still better than anybody rumored in that bogus rumor. You want to get younger, I get it...but do you want to get worse?

And most importantly, do you want to trade the face of the franchise, a guy that should have been an All Star this year? I think some people are honestly losing the perspective here.

Some talk about his stats in the Playoffs this year. They forget that until then he had had a very good second part of the season in which he did everything for the team. He played guard, forward and still get some rebounds on the way. Pierce and Garnett were asked to do more than what they did back in 2008 and somehow they managed to keep the expectations high for the squad.

Don´t forget the truth: without Rondo and without a center, these two vets were asked to do 150% of what they were supposed to do. And yet, both had All Star seasons.

There is even a part of the fans that go even beyond this: they want to amnesty Paul Pierce or to buy him out. Let´s go full crazy here: let´s imagine that by trading Paul or waiving him we would have a shot at getting a free agent like Dwight Howard or Josh Smith.

I beg your pardon? Since when have any of those two shown the level of play, loyalty and pride that Paul has displayed during a decade and a half in Boston?

I say, even if that made us have a shot at Dwight -paint your face, clown- Howard and Josh I am never happy in Atlanta Smith, I would rather have Pierce retire in green averaging his 19-6-5 in Boston than having any of other hyped free agents contaminate the locker room in Boston.

Not to mention that by cutting Pierce we would automatically lose another Celtics legend: Kevin Garnett.

So my question is: who is out there better than Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett out there at our disposition?

Think about it.

The truth is that even by trading or waiving these players the Celtics will not have a shot at trying it. The finances don´t work.

My math is very simple: keep the Captain, KG and Doc Rivers together and let them try once more with the help of our rising Superstar Rajon Rondo and our superb gang of young guns like Jeff Green, Jared Sullinger and Avery Bradley. Make a couple moves for help at the 1 and the 5. Draft big and let Pierce and KG retire in Celtics green.

15 million dollars.

They say Paul doesn´t deserve that. A guy that flirted with the triple double in most of the games after the Rondo injury and that has been the pride and soul of this team for the last 15 years...are you telling me he doesn´t deserve that?

A guy that reshaped his own contract three years ago to make more room for the team to get better players?

A guy whose teeth were literally out there on the Boston parquet and didn´t miss a minute after it?

A guy who was the MVP in the amazing ride to the NBA championship after 22 years?

A 10 time All Star who could have left for hotter teams when he had the chance to do it?

I say he surely deserves that and more.

Please, consider your position and read again the Celtics book of legends and revisit its rules.

Red Auerbach didn´t trade Kevin McHale of Detlef Schrempf and Sam Perkins at the end of the 80´s.

We won´t trade Paul Pierce.

Simply because Thou shalt not trade the Truth