CSN - According to ESPN's Marc Stein, Celtics captain Paul Pierce has informed Danny Ainge and company that he is opting out of the final year of his contract. Pierce had until June 30th to either pick up or opt-out of the final year of his contract.
The Celtics could still re-sign Pierce, perhaps to a longer and more "cap friendly" deal.
My initial thought when I read this frightened me, but this could also be a very good sign for the Boston Celtics. As I mentioned in previous posts, the only way that Boston can sign a second-tier free agent (like Joe Johnson) would be if Pierce opts out and signs a more cap-friendly contract. The first half of that trick is done. Now, hopefully Pierce will stay with the Celts. He will be an unrestricted free agent come July 1. Pierce has said several times that he wants to be a Celtic forever, but you never know what kind of offer a team will make at The Truth. If Boston can keep him for half the former price, though, the C's will be in very good shape to potentially sign a free agent or a couple of free agents. The rules are tricky, but as we said, this was the first step that needed to happen. It seems like it will happen, according to pretty reliable sources. So, let the games begin.
hate to see him do this. always been a huge pierce fan, but he has been known to be team player when it comes to taking a bit of a salary cut if it makes the team better.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I'm a Pierce fan too. My hope is that he opted out to make room for team improvements. He could have gotten $21 million this season. Instead he'll probably sign a contract for a lot less than that now. He's a team player and I think he's at the point in his career that he wants to win another title. So I sure hope that's the case with this.
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