Will The Truth Return for Good?

via sportsinreview.com

Paul Pierce, The Truth, who spent his first 15 seasons in the NBA in Celtic green, will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2013-2014 year. The Truth matured as a person and player as he played in Boston. He went through ultimate low times in his life, like getting stabbed 11 times in a night club, and all-time highs like winning the 17th Boston Celtics NBA Championship. Paul Pierce means so much to the city of Boston, and that was apparent during his return to the Boston Garden, when the Celtics played his tribute video and the crowd reacted extremely emotionally.

Along with Pierce meaning a lot to the city of Boston, Paul Pierce resonates with me on a personal level too. Pierce, who is my favorite player ever, left Boston for Brooklyn in the off season with his best friend, Kevin Garnett. KG and Pierce will always be in my heart because they brought the only championship banner to Boston 21st Century and the only one in my lifetime. 

The feelings between Pierce and the fans is mutual, he said this after his return to the Garden. "I just wanna give a special thank you [to the fans]," Pierce said. "Through my bad times, through my immature times, through my growing up and becoming a man in this city, to winning a championship and everybody sticking with me and standing behind me, I'd just like to tell them thank you."

I'm convinced that Pierce, in his heart, will forever be a Celtic. As soon as he retires, '34' will be hung up in the rafters right next to the Big Ticket's '5'. Even though Pierce will always be in the Celtics' building, will he have the opportunity to retire in Boston?

The Boston Celtics, who have been labelled as a rebuilding team, would probably not sign Pierce to a legitimate contract. With that said, Danny Ainge is an unbelievable general manager, who has the reputation for making unbelievable moves in both free agency and on the trading block. If The Truth decides to not hang it all up, it is likely that his destination of choice would be the beloved Boston. 

Danny Ainge, who stuck with Pierce through the thick and thins of the early and immature parts of his career, probably has a little sweet spot in his heart for Paul, just like the whole city of Boston. I wouldn't be surprised if Pierce agrees with the Celtics to sign either a 10 day contract or a 1 year, 1 million dollar deal. Both of those deals would make sense because Pierce would be ecstatic to play for the team where his heart is, and the Celtics P-R department would blow up and they would sell a crazy amount of tickets. TV ratings for 10 games would be through the roof, and the The Truth could retire after a game in the Garden and give the Boston Faithful one of his signature bows. 

Even if Pierce retires after this season with Brooklyn, he and the Celtics organization has expressed interest in Pierce joining Boston as a coach or in management. After he was traded to Brooklyn, Pierce made a quick remark about his possible future role in the organization. "I may be working for Wyc Grousbeck or Danny Ainge".  It's also well documented that Pierce wants to at the very least open up a sports bar in Boston because he "still has relationships" in the city. 

So don't be surprised if Paul Pierce returns to the Celtics organization eventually as a player, coach, or in management. And at the very least, you can find him at his own sports bar in downtown Boston in 2015.