[Premier]

It seems like we haven't discussed this in a while.

As the Celtics continue to play 'poorly' as described by some fans, many seem keen on trading our star player, Paul Pierce, who is having one of the best seasons of his career so far in the year. Should the Boston Celtics trade him?

 

[Floods]

If the C's aren't within shouting distance of the playoffs by the deadline, then pull the trigger.

 

[BackwoodsBum]

Boy, you sure like to stir things up don't you :biggrin:

Last season and before the start of this seas I was one of the people screaming for Pierce to go. Now...well lets just say it's a tough decision. There are a lot of good arguments on both sides of this issue.

First the reasons why he should be traded:

1) This is far and away his best all around season. He is still scoring, but doing so within the flow of the offense. He is passing the ball well and his rebounding is outstanding for someone at his position. I don't think his value has ever been higher than it is right now.

2) This team is not going to be a threat this year or even next year. By the time they are ready to compete will Pierce still be playing at this level or will he be worrying more about getting his numbers so that he can get another big contract.

3) What's keeping him from going back into last season's funk if he gets tired of playing on a team that is obviously not a contender?

Now the reasons why he shouldn't be traded:

1) See #1 above! There are only a few people in the league who are consistently playing better than Pierce right now and most of them are untouchable. If we trade him who could we honestly get in return???

2) He has stated a desire to finish his career in Boston and so far he is playing like he really does want to stay. As long as he continues to play like this he is a keeper.

3) Ricky Davis. His play this year has been off the scale and a lot of that can be attributed to the fact that with Pierce on the team Ricky seldom faces more than single coverage. Ricky is the consumate "second star" because he takes some of the pressure off of Pierce and Pierce takes some of the pressure off of him. If Pierce is traded, Davis would then be the focus of the offense (along with Jefferson and LaFrentz to some extent) and would probably face double coverage a lot. His scoring numbers would drop as well as his shooting percentage, and the C's offense would struggle. Also, several of the assists that Ricky is getting come on passes to Pierce so those numbers would drop too.

4) If Pierce is traded for another big name star, would that person be able to mesh with the existing team or would they hinder the development of the kids or create a bad atmosphere in the locker room? Right now the only top level star that I think might be available is KG and since he plays the same position as Perkins and Jefferson their minutes would drop with him on the team. I'm not saying that I wouldn't want him, but that trading for him might not be the best thing for this team. Whoever the trade was for you would have to look at hot the entire team would be affected not just trade our star for theirs and only look at their individual numbers.

Anyway, these are just a few things off the top of my head. Right now, I think I have changed my position on this argument and favor hanging on to Pierce at least through the end of the year unless he starts to sulk again. If he does that trade him quickly before his value drops. If he continues to play the way he is now, keep him unless he wants out of town or unless someone makes us an offer that we can't refuse (such as taking Blount too and giving us back a top young star plus a decent bench player and draft picks or two stars).

 

[Premier]

Good post BackwoodsBum.

I'll post some of my previous thoughts:

Pierce (and Ricky Davis) rates highly and Pierce has a PER of 28.5 (very, very high; in comparison, Shaquille O'Neal recorded similar ratings in 1994 and 1995) this season. Pierce has been dominant this year and has held his opposing small forwards to a PER of slightly higher than 15.8, showing he has improved greatly on defense. He may not try his hardest, but he is certainly our best player and shouldn't be traded unless we are getting a great young big man in return (Dwight Howard perhaps although Orlando would never trade him)

First of all, why would you want to trade Paul Pierce, a proven NBA star, for a lottery selection that is not guaranteed to accomplish anything (don't get me wrong; draft picks are good, but the '06 draft will not produce many players of Pierce's caliber. If we were to trade for a top three '07 selection though, then that's different [I trust Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, and OJ Mayo will all become superstars; Oden being the best big man since Duncan and a defensive cornerstone [think Dwight Howard, but better]]. Pierce is already what most NBA draft prospects aspire to be. He is not the problem.

Third, Pierce's value is highest in the off-season. You don't trade players in the season and expect to get fair value in return. The worst thing would be to trade Pierce at the deadline. Look what happened to Baron Davis. He could've been a Boston Celtic for Tom Gugliotta, Gary Payton, Tony Allen (*or Delonte West), and Michael Stewart, but Wyc and crew refused as they did not want to take on Baron's salary and opted for the cheaper Antoine Walker who had an expiring contract.

 

[AUNDRE]

the only way i would trade him is if he was packaged in a deal so that the Celtics will get KG in return....

 

[Premier]

Kevin Garnett is not coming to Boston.

I don't think Ainge would ever agree to a deal with McHale.

 

[GloryDays]

That is not true.

Wyc Grousbeck could have had Barron Davis AND Antoine at the trade deadline last year but turned the offer down.

Wyc admitted it in a press conference and the guys on Celtics Pride were talking about it after we lost to Seattle.

 

[Premier]

Who would he have traded?

 

[KingHandles]

It seems like we haven't discussed this in a while.

As the Celtics continue to play 'poorly' as described by some fans, many seem keen on trading our star player, Paul Pierce, who is having one of the best seasons of his career so far in the year. Should the Boston Celtics trade him?

Come on Prem, what would you do. :biggrin:

Pierce should retire in green.

 

[LX]

I agree with King. Paul Pierce should stay a Celtic.

 

[aquaitious]

There's no need to trade Pierce now. He's happy, the fans are happy. He's giving it all he's got.

Last year, even though his value was low would have been a better time to trade him since he didn't play to the level he's capable of playing. Everyone knows he has talent, it's just that his head was always in the wrong place.

This year he's shown that both his head and talent are working together and his stats are backing that up.

 

[LX]

There's no need to trade Pierce now. He's happy, the fans are happy. He's giving it all he's got.

Last year, even though his value was low would have been a better time to trade him since he didn't play to the level he's capable of playing. Everyone knows he has talent, it's just that his head was always in the wrong place.

This year he's shown that both his head and talent are working together and his stats are backing that up.

^^ Said it the best

Speaking of which. Get on AIM aqua. We need to have a Perkins-related discussion. :biggrin: