Report: Clippers' Pierce plans on returning for 2016-17 season
"The Truth" reportedly has at least one more year of basketball left in the tank.
Veteran forward Paul Pierce plans on returning to the Los Angeles Clippers for the 2016-17 season, his 19th in the league, sources told the Los Angeles Times' Brad Turner.
The 38-year-old has one more fully guaranteed year on his contract which will pay him $3.5 million. He'd make $3.7 million in 2017-18, although only $1 million is guaranteed.
He was undecided on whether to retire over the past few months, telling the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn he'd only come back if he could prepare himself both mentally and physically for the grind of an 82-game campaign, plus a hopeful playoff run.
Pierce was also unhappy with his role coming off the bench in limited minutes. He averaged career lows across the board in points (6.1), rebounds (2.7), assists (one), and steals (0.5) in 68 appearances for the 53-29 Clippers.
"I thought I had one more good year (this past season), but obviously I didn't like how it all went with my role," Pierce said. "I'm still just trying to figure it out. A lot has got to do with my role I'm going to play. To come back and sit 82 games, I don't know if I can do that."