JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Throwback: When Paul Pierce Revealed Playing in Brooklyn Was a Horrible Experience
Paul Pierce is one of the stars of the NBA from yesteryear, and he revealed why his time with the Brooklyn Nets was not good according to his standards.
The Brooklyn Nets had a lot of expectations going into the 2013–14 NBA season. The Nets had just qualified for the 2013 playoffs after a six-year absence from the postseason.
Many believed that Brooklyn would challenge for the NBA championship with the core of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez returning, as well as the addition of future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
However, the Nets had an extremely slow start. Although they made the playoffs, the team was easy prey for the Big 3 Heat in the second round of the playoffs. After the season, Pierce ended up joining the Washington Wizards as a player because Brooklyn declined to resign him.
In an ESPN interview, Pierce discussed his miserable season in New York. He claimed that the Nets' players lacked a winning mentality. Truth went on to say that they would have given up if KG and he hadn't been present. Paul took particular aim at Deron Williams, a prominent player.
"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."
Williams was the team's best player and an established superstar when Pierce moved to Brooklyn. He was an Olympic gold medallist twice, a three-time All-Star, and a two-time selection to the All-NBA second team.
They expected D-Will to lead the players and get the team over the finish line because Truth and KG were already past their prime. Pierce claimed that Williams behaved as though he didn't want to be the team's leader and that the Nets could rely on him and Garnett to do so.
"I think a lot of the pressure got to him sometimes," added Pierce. "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."
The Nets began the season with a dismal 10-21 record and looked to be in serious trouble due to a leadership crisis. Thankfully, they improved as the season went on, finishing with a 44-38 record and qualifying for the postseason. They upset the Raptors, who were seeded third, in the first round. But in the following round, they lost 4-1 to LeBron and the Heat.
Latest Articles
