Paul Pierce consulting Kevin Garnett, will decide soon on retirement, says at most he'll play 1 more year

Paul Pierce told the Globe on Wednesday night before Game 3 of the NBA Finals that he hasn’t made a decision on whether he will return for a 19th season but will in the next few weeks.

Pierce, 38, has two years remaining on a three-year, $10 million deal with the Clippers but is coming off the worst statistical season of his career. If Pierce does return for the 2016-17 season, he said it certainly will be his last.

“Well, we always say it’s 51-49. I get 51 percent of the vote and the rest of [the family] gets 49,” he said. “[My wife’s] input carried a lot of weight. We’ll figure out some things. I know I don’t want to be sitting at home, whatever I do, regardless. If I come back, it will be one more [season] and that will be it. No doubt.”

In late April, Pierce said he was 50-50 on calling it quits, so it sounds like the odds haven't changed much.

Washburn also wrote:

Pierce said he talked with close friend and former teammate Kevin Garnett on Tuesday about his decision. It was a difficult season for Pierce in Los Angeles. He averaged a career-low 6.1 points in just 18 minutes per game, shooting 36.3 percent. Pierce came off the bench for 30 of his 68 games.

“I thought I had one more good year [this past season], but obviously I didn’t like how it all went with my role,” he said. “I’m still just trying to figure it out. A lot has got to do with my role I’m going to play. To come back and sit 82 games, I don’t know if I can do that.”

Garnett posted the above photo on his Instagram Wednesday, with the caption "Always a great time with the guys...REAL BROTHERS."  When the Celtics played the Clippers back in March, Pierce explained how he and Garnett have often discussed retiring together.  The last report we had on KG came a month ago from Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, who at the time believed Garnett wanted to play another season.

For the time being, Pierce is killing it as an analyst for ESPN during the Finals--a nice taste of what life after basketball could be.




Follow Mark Van Deusen on Twitter @LucidSportsFan