Report: Celtics to pursue Love and reunion with Pierce

CSNE

A.SHERROD BLAKLEY

BOSTON – If Kevin Love decides to test the free agent waters next month, you can bet the Celtics will be among those looking to woo him.

But the Celtics know they will need to add more than Love to the mix going forward.

Apparently that’s among the many options the Celtics are considering, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
He reported via Twitter on Wednesday that if Loves decides to not opt-in to the final year of his deal with Cleveland (as was reported by ESPN's Marc Stein) and begins visiting teams as a free agent next month, Boston will try and sell him on the idea of playing with “Robin Lopez and … Paul Pierce.”


Yes, a return of the Truth to Boston would certainly be more attractive to Love. Still, as challenging as signing Love would be, bringing Pierce back to Boston will just as difficult.

Pierce is expected to not opt-in to the final year of his contract with the Washington Wizards and thus become a free agent July 1.

A handful of teams are gearing up for a shot at signing Pierce, with the Los Angeles Clippers – coached by former Celtics coach Doc Rivers – at the front of the line.

Adding Pierce would not only be a homecoming for the Inglewood, Calif. native, but also reunite him with Rivers and fill a major void on the Clippers roster in terms of talent, leadership and veteran moxie, which as we saw with Pierce in Washington this past season, was a huge factor in the playoffs.

While Lopez' twin brother Brook Lopez has garnered much attention for his play, Robin has quietly gone about establishing himself as one of the NBA's better defensive big men.

He averaged 9.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per game last season. And good things tend to happen when he's on the floor, evident by his plus/minus per 100 possessions the last two seasons being plus 6.1 and plus 5.6, respectively.

As for Love, the idea of him walking away from the Cavs isn’t that big a stretch.

The Big Three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Love never quite took off the way many anticipated it would during the regular season.

And a shoulder injury after getting tangled up with Boston’s Kelly Olynyk in the first round of the playoffs ended Love’s postseason run after just four games.

Irving’s postseason was shortened after he was injured in the NBA Finals.

Cleveland’s ability to advance as far as they did without Irving and Love was not just a testament to James’ talent, but it also provided a forum for Tristan Thompson to emerge as a major factor at the power forward position.

His rebounding, especially on the offensive glass, was vital to Cleveland’s success and may force the Cavs to pay more for him this summer (he’ll be a restricted free agent) than they anticipated.

In the NBA Finals, Thompson averaged 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Because of Thompson’s postseason success, Cleveland may not be all that pressed or concerned about keeping Love in the fold going forward.

Of course, everything comes back to what Love wants to do – stay in Cleveland or look around and see what else is out there via free agency.

If he decides to test free agency, the Celtics will be among the more aggressive suitors for his talent.

And with that we’ll have the Summer of Love 2.0.

Let's hope for the Celtics. this summertime drama has a happier ending.

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Love and Pierce.

A sure sign of a defensive juggernaut in the making.

Sam

Don't get me wrong, I love PP - he's a true Celtic, and I'd love to see him retire a Celtic. But a plan of Love, Pierce and R. Lopez doesn't exactly scream title to me. Hope there is more to this story...

It's not the number of years Pierce has left in him.  It's the number of years he has the ability to fit seamlessly into the style the Celtics need to play.

Zero.

Sam

If Cleveland hadn't made the mistake of trading Wiggins for Love, the Cavs might be wearing new rings this summer. If Love comes to Boston, Kelly'll break his arm in practice. I like Pierce, I like Bird, I like sentimentality, but most of all I like to look ahead, not behind. Hawk

my guess is that Love ends up in Portland.

once Aldridge leaves for SA, they will have cap room and a hoe at PF as well.

I think Dannys best chance at an all-star might be Cousins .

Maybe we can get Rick Pitino to say, "Paul Pierce is walking through that door."