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Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban tweeted earlier this week that former Boston Celtics talisman and 2021 Hall of Fame inductee Paul Pierce was close to joining his team in 2008.
It would have seen Pierce join the likes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd in forming a big three in the NBA had the deal gone through. Pierce was still in his prime at the time and would have definitely hugely helped the Mavs.
Cuban claimed the deal did not go through because the third team involved in the deal pulled out last minute. They were unaware of a first-round pick going to the Boston Celtics and weren't okay with that proposition. That eventually killed the trade move altogether, and Pierce ended up staying with the C's.
Former Boston Celtics president denies NBA trade rumors circling Paul Pierce's move to the Dallas Mavericks in 2008
Former Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge has denied the NBA trade rumors linking Paul Pierce to the Dallas Mavericks in a recent interview with MassLive. He claimed the C's were never close to trading Pierce in 2008 when they had just won the title and were looking to win more. Here's what he said:
"We were never close to trading Paul in that time. That never happened. I don’t have any recollection of that. I don’t believe it ever happened. I know that we never have a trade call involving Paul Pierce. I know that nothing ever got close. There was some conversation in there but we were never close to trading Paul at that time. We were trying to win championships then. Paul was the captain of our team. I don’t really know what Marc is referring to but that didn’t happen."
Ainge also mentioned he opted to work in the Boston Celtics' front office in 2003 because Paul Pierce was leading the charge for the team at the time. Ainge made sure he surrounded Pierce with the best team possible to help him and the franchise land an NBA championship.
They did just that in 2008 after acquiring the likes of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. The Boston Celtics beat Kobe Bryant's LA Lakers 4-2 in the Finals. Paul Pierce was voted as the Finals MVP that season as he averaged 19.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per contest. It was the only championship win of Paul Pierce's career.
Guess the Lakers players!
