John Havlicek discusses Paul Pierce's departure, calls him best one-on-one player in Celtics history

After the NBA's Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremonies held earlier today, the leading scorer in Boston Celtics franchise history shared some of his thoughts regarding the man who recently became #2 on that list.  Here's what Havlicek (26,395 career points) said about Pierce (24,021), via the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn:

"Well I think he wanted to (stay) but circumstances changed and he was able to sort of give himself another shot (at a championship) so you can't blame him for that. It's like Bill Sharman years ago, left the Celtics and became a Laker of all things. So I wish (Pierce) well and hopes that he gets that ring. That's what free agency does, it doesn't allow you to have that continuity. We never made a trade in 10 years (with the Celtics) and all the people remained the same. It's a lot different today but I wish him well. He's one of the best all-around players and the thing I marveled at was his one-on-one ability. I think he's the best one-on-one player of all Celtics."

I'd have to say I agree with Havlicek on that one; looking at the list of guys who might rank higher than Pierce among all-time Celtic greats, it's hard to say any of them had better one-on-one scoring abilities.


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