The Truth Joins The Free Agent Market

The day before the most heralded NBA Free Agent period in history begins, Celtics forward Paul Pierce enacted his contract’s early termination clause and joined what was already the most star-studded class in free agent history. Pierce’s announcement may have come as a surprise to some but his decision makes a lot of fiscal sense. Pierce will forego the more than $20 million that he is owed by the Celtics next year but will be well positioned to ink a deal worth over $90 million during the next four years which would take him into the twilight of his career (Pierce would be 36 by that time). In all likelihood Pierce will give the Celts the first crack at signing him but he’ll have a number of options and here’s why:

Most importantly Pierce will never have a better market in which to cash in big time than this offseason. That may seem odd considering he will be playing second fiddle to the James-Wade-Bosh triumvirate who will be the core targets of every NBA team with enough cap space (Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Cleveland, Miami etc.). However Pierce’s monetary value will actually be heightened because of this as teams that fail to land one of the big three will feel a lot of pressure from their fans to make some sort of splash during free agency (these teams have been shedding cap space at an unprecedented rate to position themselves and all lack a true centerpiece). The huge contracts that will be signed by the big 3 will also be used as leverage by Pierce and his agent to pump up his value (the top free agent contracts in any sport generally serve to define how the rest of the market will be valued, players will compare themselves in every which way to a player that has signed for big money and teams are hard-pressed to argue, especially if they’re desperate). Pierce is pretty much guaranteed to make bank this offseason wherever he signs.

I would still think Pierce is mostly to re-sign with the Celtics and pretty much ensure that he will finish his career there. He is a smart guy and he knows that his value as a player could have been greatly diminished by the time his current contract ended if he suffered from age and injuries. Pierce has also given himself the option to have some influence over how the Celtics’ roster shapes up next year with the threat to sign elsewhere if he doesn’t like the team’s makeup serving as his trump card. This new development adds yet another level of intrigue to what should already be an incredibly exciting NBA offseason.