No surprise here. Paul Pierce will remain a Celtic. The club has reached agreement with its captain on a new contract, according to sources. The deal is said to be for four years, with only the first three fully guaranteed. The papers cannot be signed or officially announced until next week. Pierce opted out of the final year of his previous contract and became an unrestricted free agent at 12:01 Thursday. But he took that route with the intention of re-signing with the Celtics [team stats] in a deal that would help his own future and allow the club better maneuverability. The numbers were not available, but Pierce will in the 2010-11 season make significantly less that the $21,513,521 he was scheduled to receive. That will aid the Celtics’ position versus the luxury tax. The team’s other big-name free agent, Ray Allen, has been contacted, but it remains to be seen what other type of interest he gets from NBA teams looking for a veteran shooter. Nevertheless, Pierce’s return, on the heels of Doc Rivers’ decision to return as coach, means the Celtics are well on their way toward restoring most of the team that came up a game short in the NBA Finals in June. http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/...s_pierce_reach_agreement/srvc=home&position=0
Give credit to Pierce - wasn't a big money grab, and this almost guarantees he is a lifetime Celtic. 3 years at $15M would be a very acceptable deal for Boston, given his decline. Evan
Pierce took a home town discount and it's going to help the team win. He could have made more out on the market from the desperate losers of free agency (Knicks). It's great to see a player actually put winning above money. Pierce didn't make a big stink about how much he wants to win like the young guys in FA. He put his money where his mouth is, compare Pierce's actions to someone like Joe Johnson, who kept telling anyone that would listen how much he wanted to win and how he'd take less and then signed as soon as he got the max, you can see which guy is a champion and which one is the loser.
I think you may be overstating this "home town discount." Maybe he would've been able to get a little bit more in free agency from a desperate team, but how much over $15M a year would you expect him to get? He'll be 33 at the start of next season. This was really just a win/win negotiation situation for Pierce and the Celtics. The Celtics improve their salary cap/luxury tax position and Pierce gets the security of more guaranteed money.
It's not the money, it's the years. A desperate team would have given him 15 per for 5 years. The Celts gave3 and a partially guaranteed 4th.
Even with the Over-36 Rule? I'm not so sure. GMs have done a lot of stupid things, but $15M per year for 5 years (with two years counted as deferred salary) for a 33-year old player is a stretch. I think a reasonable inference could be made that the reason Pierce opted out now was that he/his agent believe he would have a lesser value on the open market following this season. Otherwise, he threw away a good chunk of money by opting out now.
