Nuggets’ $45 Million Decision Triggers Paul Pierce and Co-host to Dismiss Them As Celtics’ Rivals

It hasn’t even been a month since the Boston Celtics won the NBA championship and next year’s threats are already being speculated. The discussion emerged between ex-Celtics star Paul Pierce on The Truth Lounge Show with co-host Jason Crowe. While Pierce disregarded the entire Eastern Conference as a threat, it seemed they could’ve taken Nuggets into consideration had the franchise not done a major blunder.

During the show, Crowe stated he keeps on hearing about Nuggets but he does not believe them as a threat. Paul Pierce went to the extent of claiming first Denver gotta make it out of the west. “That’s what I’m saying. I don’t believe that. And they didn’t… They didn’t re-sign their people… What Bruce Brown did for Denver… And Jeff Green… They let them go,” Crowe said. Notably, Brown had landed with Nuggets in 2022 on a two-year deal with a player option. His contract’s total value was close to $13.2 million, so he outplayed the deal.

Being among franchise’s top and acting as a key piece in Nuggets’ championship run, he opted out of his contract using his player option and became an unrestricted free agent. The Indiana Pacers took the opportunity and landed Brown on their roster with a 2-year, $45 million contract with a team option. Even the Nuggets themselves considered this as a major setback for the team.

“That blow was big,” Nuggets GM Calvin Booth said on losing Brown and Jeff Green in free agency. Brown’s 12.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in the playoffs along with his important plays testifies his importance in the Nuggets. So Pierce and Crowe may have some point in their opinion of not considering Nuggets a threat to Celtics.

Paul Pierce believes these two teams to have some hope against Celtics, but under certain circumstances

Although the former Celtics star had earlier snubbed the entire eastern conference against Celtics, he stated New York Knicks can be one team from the east that, if improved, could pose a threat to the Celtics. The Knicks have already moved in that direction after landing Bridges from Nets. But the franchise will still have to fill out the surrounding roster.

Apart from this, Pierce also considered Philadelphia 76ers as a contender if Paul George lands with the team. Notably, George recently entered free agency after opting out of Clippers, declining his $48.7 million player option. And as per Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, the Sixers are “frontrunner” to land George in free agency. “If he comes to Philly, sources believe George will help recruit solid role players for the Sixers’ pursuit of an NBA championship-caliber roster,” Pompey wrote.

Now, Crowe said on the Truth Lounge Show that PG can play the third wheel, but he can’t play that dynamic two-way at this stage of his career. But the speculations are that the Sixers are looking to surround Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid with a third star. And PG could very well serve this purpose, as admitted by Crowe as well. However, if the Sixers pose a threat to Celtics is something that can be answered only in the next season.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.