The NBA is full of ‘what-ifs’ and one of the most interesting involves Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce and the Dallas Mavericks. Mark Cuban revealed that he was close to forming a Big 3 with Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki, and Jason Kidd.
The Truth recently sat down with Gilbert Arenas and Josiah Johnson on the “No Chill with Gilbert Arenas” podcast, explaining how fun it would have been for him and Dirk to dominate rivals, but incredibly boring for the rest of the league to see slow players do whatever they wanted.
First, he explained the reasons why he wanted to join the Mavs after several seasons without success at TD Garden.
“A lot of people don’t even know this. I wanted to go to Dallas. At the time, I didn’t want to be that guy to make it a public trade announcement. That wasn’t the most popular thing as it is today. I was trying to manufacture something to Dallas, because I just didn’t think the Celtics was gonna ever turn it around. Because it was me and Antoine, we was building something, then they tore it down and I’m like in the middle of my 5th, 6th year, I’m getting better, I’m in the All-Star Game every year and then we’re going back to rebuilding. And then we had the worst record in the league in 2006 and 2007. And I’m the oldest on the team and I’m 27. I’m looking at Kob, T-Mac, Vince, y’all going to the playoffs, having playoffs success. I just wanted to be in the playoffs, I wanted a shot.”
Moreover, he explained that his desired destination was the Mavs, who were living sweet moments while Pierce was struggling with his Celtics.
“At the time, the Mavs was pushing the button. They was winning 50 games every year, it was that team that was, like, they needed one more player I felt like getting them over the top cause Dirk was Dirk and I was like, shit, they gonna be there, they get that one dude and I was like, I think I could be that dude. So, I wanted to meet up with Mark Cuban, it never happened, you know, I was pushing the front office, like, my agent, like, if I go anywhere, give me the Dallas.”
When talking about how great it would have been to link up with Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas, the Truth didn’t hesitate.
“That would have been nasty, oh man, you would have two of the slowest players at their position getting buckets.”
We never got to see Pierce playing with Nowitzki, and that surely would have been great to watch. Fortunately, they each won a championship with their respective teams. Pierce would beat Kobe Bryant in the 2008 NBA Finals, while Dirk would demolish the Miami Heat Big 3 in the magical 2011 playoffs run. Perhaps, if they joined forces, things would have gone a lot better for them, but nobody can say they have any regrets about the way they handled their careers.
