Paul Pierce - The Early Years

1998 - The Boston Celtics selected Paul Pierce in the first round (10th pick overall) of the NBA Draft – June 24, 1998.

Draft picks 1-9:

1. Michael Olowokandi (Pacific), LA Clippers
2. Mike Bibby (Arizona), Vancouver
3. Raef LaFrentz (Kansas), Denver
4. Antawn Jamison (North Carolina), Toronto
5. Vince Carter (North Carolina), Golden State
6. Robert Traylor (Michigan), Dallas
7. Jason Williams (Florida), Sacramento
8. Larry Hughes (St Louis), Philadelphia
9. Dirk Nowitzki (DJK Wurzberg, Germany), Milwaukee

Pierce was insulted by his fall to the tenth pick. Was his anger justified?

1. Olowokandi – Soon to be looking for a fourth team to give up on him. Although it would be fun if the Celtics kept him around just so Pierce could abuse him a bit in the pre-season. Edge Pierce. (I wrote this and later learned that Olowakandi is in camp. I'm shocked. Let's move on.)

2. Bibby – Scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and overtime of the 2002 Western Conference. His efforts almost dethroned the reigning champs. Almost. Things have not been the same for Bibby or the Kings since. Edge Pierce.

3. Raef LaFrentz – 5 things we know to be true:

1. He can shoot 3s
2. His knees are a mess
3. Because of the knee problems Raef does not block shots anymore.
4. Mark Cuban overpaid him big time.
5. Pierce had to know that he was better than Raef based on their time together at Kansas. Edge Pierce

4. Antawn Jamison – The kind of guy you love to have on your basketball team…your fantasy basketball team. Edge Pierce

5. Vince Carter – Definitely a better dunker than Pierce and a more explosive scorer as well. Of course Pierce has a heart. Edge Pierce.

6. Robert "Tractor" Traylor – I am only making one incredibly obvious joke in this list and I'm saving it. Edge Pierce.

7. Jason (the white point guard) Williams – The first player I would take over Pierce. Wait for it, wait for it…of course that's only if I wanted to get incredibly high. In hindsight I should have gone with the Traylor fat joke. Edge Pierce.

8. Larry Hughes – Plays excellent defense and has respectable averages across the board despite not shooting particularly well. That said, Hughes struggles with injuries and can not be your best player. As a side note, between the injuries and his field goal percentage, Hughes can maim a fantasy squad.

9. Dirk Nowitzki – Marijuana aside, the only player on the list I would take over Pierce. And it kills me to admit that. But whenever you have a 7-foot guy who shoots 3s and may be the toughest player in the league to guard you have to take him. I would be remiss if I did not mention that Nowitzki’s love of David Hasselhoff did receive some consideration as I compared him with Pierce. And yes it hurt Dirk’s cause, but not enough.

1998-1999 – Pierce sets out to prove he is the gem of the 1998 draft class

Unfortunately this turned out to be one of the strangest seasons in NBA history due to the lockout. The season was shortened to 48 games and included a number of intriguing storylines.

1. The league immediately plunged into a Michael Jordan induced hang over.

2. A number of players started the season in woeful shape. In my mind Shawn Kemp serves as the poster boy for this development. This actually makes me angry when I think about it.

3. Kenny Anderson's legendary quote about possibly selling one of his eight cars. This was right around the time that he rejected a young boy's request for an autograph. Needless to say the NBA has enjoyed better public relations periods.

4. The Latrell Sprewell redemption.

5. The often-criticized Knicks/Spurs finals.

1999-2000 – Pierce’s first full season.

1. I had my first “Who is going to be the best player on this team moment?” I was pretty sure it would be Pierce but I had no idea how it would work out. Keep in mind that Antoine Walker had joined the Celtics during the 96-97 season and for better or worse it was his team.

2. "Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale is not walking through that door, and Robert Parish is not walking through that door. And if you expect them to walk through that door, they're going to be gray and old. What we are is young, exciting, hard-working, and we're going to improve. People don't realize that, and as soon as they
realize those three guys are not coming through that door, the better this town will be for all of us because there are young guys in that room playing their asses off. I wish we had $90 million under the salary cap. I wish we could buy the world. We can't; the only thing we can do is work hard, and all the negativity that's in this town sucks. I've been around when Jim Rice was booed. I've been around when Yastrzemski was booed. And it stinks. It makes the greatest town, greatest city in the world, lousy. The only thing that will turn this around is being upbeat and positive like we are in that locker room... and if you think I'm going to succumb to negativity, you're wrong. You've got the wrong guy leading this team." – Rick Pitino

“You've got the wrong guy leading this team." – Rick Pitino – As a side note here is a pretty good reason why I will never be a sportswriter. I would have used this as the greatest out of context, yet accurate quote, in sports history. The biggest reason? I can’t write.

Paul Pierce: 2000/2001 - Present, Coming Friday.