After missing a 3-point shot to send Game 6 into overtime of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, Paul Pierce sounded ready to retire. He told the media that he was not sure he even really wanted to play basketball anymore and most assumed he was ready to call it a career despite having a year left on his contract. However, now that retirement does not seem so certain as a certain former coach could come calling Pierce.
Pierce has the chance to opt out of his current contract with the Washington Wizards at the start of the offseason. According to TNT's David Aldridge, Pierce plans to do just that and could very well make the jump to the Los Angeles Clippers and join Doc Rivers for his final years. Pierce is originally from Los Angeles so the idea that he would like to finish his carer there is not out of the picture.
Rivers already tried once to recruit Pierce to the Clippers and the effort failed. If Pierce signs to Los Angeles, he will likely have to take a pay cut lower than the $5.5 million he could earn with Washington. He would also be leaving a team on the rise as John Wall and Bradley Beal are two of the top rising stars in the league. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin have yet to prove they can get the job done.
If Washington does lose Pierce, Otto Porter would take over his job. According to the Washington Post, Porter has been groomed to become the replacement of Pierce. There is of course the idea of a Kevin Durant trade this offseason that would turn the NBA over. According to the Post there is a belief that Oklahoma City might get scarred Durant will bolt in free agency and trade him like Kevin Love. The Wizards will be ready if that were to happen.
The Wizards have several free agents in mind they would like to target. According to NBC Washington, everyone from Paul Millsap to DeAndre Jordan and Greg Monroe could be options for Washington as they aim to get more front court hep and potentially replace a clutch shooter.
