Remember how sad Paul Pierce was at the Brooklyn Nets press conference announcing his arrival?
Pierce understandably appeared heartbroken to be leaving the Boston Celtics after fifteen years to join the Nets. It seemed like he didn't want to be there and in an interview with ESPN's Jackie MacMullen, Pierce says a lot of the other players on the Nets also didn't want to be there.
How bad were things in Brooklyn last season?
Apparently the Nets would've "folded" if it wasn't for Pierce and Kevin Garnett:
“It was just the guys' attitudes there. It wasn't like we were surrounded by a bunch of young guys. They were vets who didn't want to play and didn't want to practice. I was looking around saying, ‘What's this?' Kevin (Garnett) and I had to pick them up every day in practice.
“If me and Kevin weren't there, that team would have folded up. That team would have packed it in. We kept them going each and every day.”
Pierce also calls out several of the Nets like Joe Johnson:
"Joe is quiet,'' Pierce noted. "He doesn't want much attention. He doesn't say much.
"There's a lot of secondary guys on that team. KG and I went there looking at them as the main guys who would push us, because we were advancing in years. But we ended up doing all the pushing.''
Deron Williams may have needed the most pushing according to Pierce:
"Before I got there, I looked at Deron as an MVP candidate,'' Pierce said. "But I felt once we got there, that's not what he wanted to be. He just didn't want that.
"I think a lot of the pressure got to him sometimes. This was his first time in the national spotlight. The media in Utah is not the same as the media in New York, so that can wear on some people. I think it really affected him.''
Pierce's criticisms make sense when you remember how little the Nets accomplished last season. With Garnett, Pierce, Johnson, and Williams, Brooklyn was supposed to open the Barclays Center with a legitimate championship contender. Instead they started 10-21 before stringing together some wins to finish 44-38. They somehow beat the Raptors to make it into the second round where they were overwhelmed by the Miami Heat.
The Nets elected not to resign Pierce so he is now a happy member of the Washington Wizards. Pierce tells MacMullen that Garnett is also much happier with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After reading the entire interview, it is quite clear to see that Pierce is happy to have said goodbye to Brooklyn.
