The End of an Era: From Green and White

In some shocking news from the NBA, Paul Pierce was included in a trade during the 2013 draft that sent Jason Terry, Kevin Garnett, and Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets for first round picks in 2014, 2016, 2018, Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Kris Joseph, MarShon Brooks, and Keith Bogans, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard.

Where do the Celtics turn without Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett?
Drew Hallowell/Getty Images

The best part of the deal for the Celtics is the draft picks, no question, as it is well known the Celtics are rebuilding and the picks are essential for this process. Garnett is tough, and helped bring a title to Boston in 2008 as well as shifted the culture back to championship material. However, he was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2007 so seeing him in another uniform isn't unimaginable. Garnett will be missed, but he's definitely worth the draft picks that will help the process of rebuilding. 

The toughest part of the trade to cope with as a Boston fan is losing one of the greatest Celtics of all time, Paul Pierce.  Pierce is called a “professional scorer” and he did just that all in green and white. Known as “The Truth,” he spent 15 years calling the Garden home, and in that time, he ranked second in Celtics history with 24,021 points, according to ESPN.com. He came up with his clutch gene time and time again when the Celtics needed him by going right and pulling up for a jump shot at the right elbow, and it was amazingly predictable even when every Boston fan in the building knew what he was going to do. He has easily been the best player on the Celtics since Larry Bird's time and was the first Celtic to score 2,000 points in a single season since Bird was in his prime. His legendary duel against LeBron James in Game 7 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Semi-Final at the Garden is something I’ll remember forever as he scored 41 and LeBron scored 45. But Pierce’s team prevailed. Most importantly though, Pierce did what all the great Celtics have done, from Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, to the Original Big Three of Kevin McHale, Robert parish, and Larry Bird, Paul Pierce raised a banner in Beantown.

Pierce brought a banner to Beantown,
as well as put up an obscene number of points
for the boys in green and white.

So the trades are both shocking, pessimistically and optimistically, but offer a new reboot that Boston is in desperate need of. So many young, new faces, and the promise of first round draft picks helps rejuvenate the spirit living in green and white.