MIAMI -- Following Boston's 101-88 loss to the Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, captain Paul Pierce made it clear he wants management to do whatever they can to bring Kevin Garnett back for one more run with the Celtics.
"He's been everything for my career, just his locker room presence, his desire, his determination, his leadership," Pierce said. "I've said before when Kevin first got here, he really changed the culture of everything we did around here, from the practice habits to the on-court discipline. He made everybody accountable, from the ballboys, to the chefs to the guy who flew the plane. Everybody was accountable. It was just tremendous to have him around, just the culture he brought.
"It would be great for me to end my career with Kevin. I have a couple of years left [on Celtics contract] and who knows what his future is going to bring. Hopefully, management can do something to bring him back, maybe add some pieces to this team that we need to get us over the top. If not, it's been a tremendous ride."
Garnett, who fell into early foul trouble in Game 7 and finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in 35 minutes, is now an unrestricted free agent after spending the last five seasons in Boston.
For more from Paul Flannery and Mike Petraglia in Miami, visit the Celtics team page at weei.com/celtics [1] and the Green Street [2] blog.
Links:
[1] http://www.weei.com/celtics
[2] http://www.greenstreet.weei.com
[3] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/celtics