Paul Pierce is Not The Happiest Celtic

Jackie MacMullen has a tremendous must-read look inside Paul Pierce's head in today's Boston Globe. Much of the discussion surrounds Paul's need to win now, and how all this losing ruins everything.

"We're not on a winning team, and as long as that's true, I don't get recognized as one of the top players in the league. We're never on TV. I wasn't part of the All-Star Game [this season]. We just don't get the benefit of so many other things that winning teams get."

That's something that we don't think about often, because we associate great players with winning teams. Charles Barkley, despite all those years in Philly, had some successful Phoenix squads and was able to get some decent endorsements. Kevin Garnett is the face of adidas despite a lackluster franchise. Tracy McGrady has been a prominent television figure the entire decade, despite some really terrible Orlando teams.

It's not like Pierce doesn't deserve accolades. Not one vote for even 5th place in the MVP race last year, despite 27-7-5. As he mentions, he wasn't even whispered about in the All-Star balloting this season. It shocks me that Paul Pierce hasn't played on national TV once this year. And it's fair to blame all those travesties on the state of the Celtics, and precisely Danny Ainge. Pierce is absolutely right.
MacMullen shows that Paul's breaking point is just about here:

While he was injured, Pierce said he considered many things, including requesting a trade.

"I had so much time to sit there and think about my future," he said. "I'm looking at us losing and I'm saying, 'Man, what do we really have here? Is there hope? Where do we go from here?'"

Things haven't really gotten better from there. It's clear from this conversation that it's playoffs or bust for Paul. Which means by Christmas, he could be asking for a trade.