A lot of basketball players are often involved in potential trades that do not end up happening. That is just part of the business, and even some of the greats face that situation.
In an article by Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, former Boston Celtics superstar Paul Pierce revealed that prior to the formation of the “Big 3” in Boston, he was shopped to the Portland Trail Blazers. He ended up killing the trade due to the Trail Blazers being “Too dysfunctional” at the time. Pierce also stated that later on, he told Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban that he was the “missing piece” for their team and that he tried to “engineer a trade” to the Mavericks.
By the end of the 2006–07 season, Pierce had enough. His relationship with Rivers had improved. The Celtics had not. In ’05–06, Pierce averaged 26.8 points per game. Boston finished the season 33–49. The next year, they won just 24. Pierce wanted out. Boston shopped him to Portland. Pierce killed that. “Too dysfunctional,” says Pierce. In spring ’07, Pierce ran into Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in Las Vegas. Pierce told Cuban: I’m your missing piece. Pierce pushed Schwartz to attempt to engineer a trade to Dallas. “I’m in my prime, and I’m watching all these other guys in the playoffs,” says Pierce. “It was depressing. I thought I was out of there. I thought it was over.”
There’s no question that the Boston Celtics weren’t that competitive during the two seasons mentioned, and it makes sense that Paul Pierce would want to go to a great team featuring Dirk Nowitzki. However, the Boston Celtics managed to get him some help ahead of the 2007-08 season by acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, and the rest is history. Paul Pierce ended up winning a championship with the other two stars, and his case is certainly an example of when loyalty pays off.
