(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
Not so long ago, former NBA star Paul Pierce made the rounds for all the wrong reasons.
The Boston Celtics legend went as far as to say that trading for Damian Lillard wouldn’t make the Miami Heat a championship contender, stating that they would have to give up a lot of depth to get him.
Needless to say, that prompted plenty of mockery and criticism on social media, as the Heat are fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals despite Tyler Herro getting hurt and not having as much talent as other teams in the league.
That’s why fellow NBA player Austin Rivers called him out in his latest appearance on “The Ringer NBA Show,” asking if he had lost his mind.
“For someone [like @paulpierce34] to be that good, to say comments like—Spo as your coach, Jimmy alone, as your wing, Dame as your PG & Bam as your 5 wouldn’t make the playoffs. Like bro are your out of your mind? & he’s just like ‘They lost all those key players’ @AustinRivers25 pic.twitter.com/mR2GOpY68D
— Dru (@dru_star) July 23, 2023
Truth be told, it’s hard to think that the Heat wouldn’t be a legit contender with Lillard, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Erik Spoelstra as their coach, even if they do lose some key contributors to get Lillard.
The Heat have found great success by rounding off their roster with spare parts, misfits, or undrafted players, even reaching the NBA Finals in two of the past four seasons.
Likewise, Pierce has a long history of questionable takes since he walked away from the game, and it’s not like he’s had a lot of love for the Heat organization throughout the years either, so there’s a big chance he was even a little biased when he shared his thoughts on the matter, and fans should take this comments with a grain of salt.
The post Austin Rivers Reacts To Paul Pierce’s Surprising Miami Heat Comments appeared first on The Cold Wire.