Mark Cuban makes sensational revelation, says Paul Pierce trade to Dallas Mavericks was ‘killed’
Paul Pierce will be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 11. Pierce, who was picked 10th overall in the 1998 Draft by the Boston Celtics, played 19 seasons in the NBA, 15 of which were spent with the Boston Celtics.
Now Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has made a sensational revelation that Paul Pierce could have been traded to his franchise in a three-team deal that was nixed at the last minute.
As per a recent story on Paul Pierce, the Celtics star wanted out of Boston by the end of the 2006-07 season. This after enduring a couple of losing seasons with Boston, where the franchise went 33-49 in 2005-06 and 24-58 in 2006-07. The Celtics were ready to trade him to Portland, but Pierce killed that deal. Pierce then ran into Cuban in Las Vegas, where he told him, “I’m your missing piece.”
Cuban himself confirmed this a few hours ago story by tweeting:
“We had a deal done. We had a 3 way trade done. All teams agreed to their part of the deal. When we get on the trade call, the 3rd team killed the deal because they didn’t know that a first was going to the Celtics. They chose not to do the deal at all.”
Cuban wanting to trade for Pierce would have had the Celtics star playing alongside Mavs superstar Dirk Nowitzki. And given that Jason Kidd too joined the Mavs midway through the 2007-08 season, Dallas would have had their own version of the Big 3 with Paul Pierce, Nowitzki and Kidd.
It all eventually worked out for Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks
In hindsight, it went well for both Boston and Dallas. Danny Ainge brought Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to Boston in the 2007 offseason that ultimately led to the Celtics Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Garnett and Allen. That trio of stars helped the Celtics win their last NBA championship in 2008, with Pierce winning the 2008 Finals MVP.
Dallas, meanwhile, won their first NBA title in 2011 when Dirk Nowitzki led them past the Miami Heat Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Nowitzki was crowned the 2011 Finals MVP.
Over his 19-year career in the NBA, Pierce averaged 19.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He was a 10-time All-Star and one of the clutchest players of his generation. Pierce ranks 16th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, with 26,397 points to his credit. Shaquille O’Neal famously gave Pierce the nickname, ‘The Truth’.
Also read: 5 reasons why Paul Pierce is underrated