Paul Pierce Hasn't Spoken To Ray Allen Since Veteran Signed With Miami Heat In 2012
BOSTON (CBS) -- Paul Anthony Pierce has not been a member of the Boston Celtics in nearly two full calendar years, but it's pretty evident that his blood still runs green.
Pierce has never tried to keep his love for Boston a secret, even as he's moved on to play for Brooklyn and now Washington. Most recently, he opened up a bit to ESPN's Jackie MacMullan about his entire career, and Pierce didn't hold back.
Included in that conversation was, of course, some reminiscing about Boston, and though Pierce said he still keeps in contact with a number of former teammates as well as coach Doc Rivers, he noted that he has not spoken with Ray Allen since Allen opted to leave Boston to sign with Miami in 2012.
It's a story, no doubt, but it turns out that it sounds a little bit more juicy than it actually is. Pierce said he and Kevin Garnett were never close with Allen, even during the memorable Big Three run.
"It's not a bad thing with Ray," Pierce explained. "We had a great relationship on the court. But even the year we won it, after a game we'd say, 'Let's go have something to eat and have a night with the older guys.' We'd get there and it would be me, Kevin and Sam [Cassell], but no Ray. In a lot of ways, me, Sam and Kevin were our Big Three."
Pierce added that even though Rajon Rondo and Allen had a bit of a rocky relationship, Rondo showed up to Allen's public events. But Ray never returned the favor.
"I know Ray probably didn't like Rondo that much, but it wasn't a fact of not liking somebody. You don't have to like everybody you play with -- it's a matter of showing support," Pierce said. "Rondo probably didn't like Ray either, but he came to Ray's functions to show, 'Hey, we're together in this.'"
It provides some deep insight into what went into Allen's decision to leave Boston via free agency, and it also helps explains Garnett's refusal to acknowledge Allen's existence in October 2012.
Garnett, unsurprisingly, also has not spoken with Allen since 2012.
"It just got to the point where it was, 'That's Ray.' No hard feelings," Pierce told MacMullan. "Everyone made such a big deal of us not talking after we left, but there really wasn't much there.''
In non-Ray Allen topics, Pierce also proved that though he only expects to play one more season in the NBA, his confidence remains as high as ever.
"I always say I wish I was in my prime matching up against LeBron,'' Pierce said. "Let's see how many championships he would have won then.''
That's quite a bit of confidence from a man who has just one title to his name, but from Pierce, you'd expect nothing less. Hopefully, after a comment like that one, we'll get to see one last playoff meeting between Pierce and LeBron.
"You definitely have to worry about Cleveland because they have LeBron and some vets now," Pierce said, "but if we get to the conference finals, anything can happen.''
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