Former Brooklyn Nets small forward Paul Pierce has agreed to sign with the Washington Wizards on a two-year, $11 million deal. The contract will include a player option after the first year, which will allow the 36-year-old to hit the free agent market again next summer .
The Wizards wasted no time in finding a replacement for Trevor Ariza, who agreed to a four-year, $32 million deal with the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Pierce, a 16-year NBA veteran and 10 time all-star who spent most of his career with the Boston Celtics, became a Net before last season as part of a blockbuster trade that also sent Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn. Last season, he averaged a career low 13.5 points per game, while also adding 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Despite his dip in production, however, he still shot very well, hitting 45.1 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from long-range.
While the Nets owned Pierce’s Bird rights and could have easily offered him a better deal than the Wizards did, they ultimately decided against re-signing him after recently acquiring young forward Sergey Karasev from the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three team trade that also involved the Boston Celtics.
Soon after news of the agreement broke, Wizards point guard John Wall took to Twitter to welcome his new teammate:
Welcome the truth @paulpierce34 to Dc…#wizkids !!
— John Wall (@John_Wall) July 13, 2014
Pierce himself then posted the following on his account:
Obama, J Wall here I come
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) July 13, 2014
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