Paul Pierce thinks Celtics will be just fine without Kyrie Irving: 'It's about fit'
After a turbulent season ending in disappointment, the Boston Celtics are going to be quite a different team next year. Kyrie Irving is out. Kemba Walker is in. Al Horford is out. Enes Kanter is in.
While that upheaval doesn’t look great for the Celtics on paper, some are hoping the team will be more than a sum of its parts compared to last year. Among those believing that is Celtics great Paul Pierce.
Paul Pierce not too worried about Kyrie Irving’s departure
Speaking with Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, Pierce said he never believed the Celtics were in a bad position this offseason, even after they became poised to lose both Irving and Horford.
Pierce went on to praise Walker, and some of the compliments were quite pointed at where Irving was criticized last year:
“Absolutely,” Pierce said. “I mean, talent don’t always win. We’ve seen that plenty of times. It’s about fit.
“Who knows if Kemba’s going to be the right fit, because it’s always about more than basketball. It’s about how you get along with your teammates and how the chemistry is. And that’s a strength of Kemba’s, so hopefully it’ll work out.”
When asked about Irving’s tenure in Boston, Pierce didn’t seem too impressed with how Irving handled last season.
“I don’t know him personally, but some people ask for the pressure and some people can deal with it,” Pierce said. “Some people can’t. We’ll see what happens now, because it looks like he’s got pretty much the same thing in Brooklyn, especially now with KD (Kevin Durant) out.”
Pierce seemed more concerned about the loss of Horford, one of the best combinations of passing and defense among big men in the NBA, but understood why the team let him walk.
The Celtics reportedly refused to give the 33-year-old Horford a fourth year on his next contract, which he received instead from the Philadelphia 76ers:
“Yeah, it’s a tough loss,” said Pierce, “but he’s an aging player who’s been on the decline. They weren’t ready to commit that much money to him, and I probably wouldn’t have either.”
Pierce’s analysis seems to be pretty in line among those who think the Celtics’ season could have gone a lot worse. Then again, we all know Pierce has been incredibly, comically wrong in the past. We’ll see how he ends up doing next year.
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