The Boston Celtics reportedly had a great opportunity to trade for current Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith last week and Celtics GM Danny Ainge decided to hold off on a potential deal for the disgruntled forward. The Hawks were only willing to deal Smith if Celtics captain Paul Pierce was included in the deal, something Ainge was not willing to do unless he had already moved Kevin Garnett in a separate deal. Was this a smart move by Ainge? That remains to be seen.
Look, it is understandable that trading away Pierce just for the sake of trading him certainly could be perceived as a slap in the face to the Celtics legend. He has been with the team his whole career and stuck it out when the team went through a miserable stretch of seasons a few years ago. He will go down as one of the greatest Celtics of all time, quite an honor considering the number of elite players that have played for the organization. Pierce obviously wants to end his career as a Celtic and that is understandable.
The problem with this is that the NBA is a business. There shouldn’t be anyone feeling sorry for anyone else. If he were to have been traded, he shouldn’t be angry or disgruntled with anyone. This type of deal is the type of move that would have made the Celtics competitive in the present and future, assuming they would have re-signed Smith. He certainly has his flaws and is probably the next step below elite, but he is still young and picturing him in the same lineup as his best friend Rajon Rondo certainly would have been entertaining.
The Celtics had a tough dilemma with Paul Pierce last week and it remains to be seen if they made the right decision by hanging onto him.
Rob Lunder covers the Boston Celtics for Rant Sports. For all Celtics news go to the team homepage on Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @rlunder18