Former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce had some very harsh words for Miami Heat president Pat Riley earlier this month.
According to Pierce, Riley is slowly killing the team’s culture, and he implied on Fox Sports that superstar players aren’t going to want to join the Heat in the future because the team doesn’t treat its top players well enough.
However, former Heat star Tim Hardaway thinks Pierce isn’t on Riley’s side in the situation between the squad and star Jimmy Butler for a petty reason that dates back to Pierce’s playing days.
“Let’s talk about Paul Pierce. Paul said he’s better than D-Wade. You out your mind. You’ve been smoking too much, to tell you the truth. You’ve been hating on the Heat since Ray Allen left Boston to go to Miami. He’s been hating on the Heat & Pat Riley since day 1.” @HardawaySr https://t.co/kzspGVCf9A pic.twitter.com/I10pfrdNI1
— Dru (@dru_star) January 11, 2025
Pierce recently continued to question Riley, suggesting that the Heat president stops caring about his superstars once he’s gotten what he wants from them.
In 2019, Pierce claimed he had a better career than Wade, when the former worked for ESPN. For comparison, Wade finished his NBA tenure with more All-Star appearances and NBA titles than Pierce did.
Additionally, Hardaway referred to sharpshooter Ray Allen’s departure from the Celtics to join the Heat in the summer of 2012 as a source of Pierce’s bitterness for Miami. Heading into that summer, Allen had spent the last five seasons in Boston and won a championship alongside Pierce and fellow star Kevin Garnett in 2008.
The Celtics had just recently pushed the Heat to the brink of elimination as well. Boston lost to Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and company in seven games in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.
Allen actually turned down more money from the Celtics to join the defending NBA champions at the time. Allegedly, Boston offered him a two-year, $12 million deal to stick around while deal he agreed to with Miami was worth just half that number over two years.
In hindsight, it seems as if Allen made the right choice by spurning the chance to continue his stint with an aging Celtics squad and join the Heat.
After all, Allen won a title playing for Miami in 2013 while Boston was eliminated in the opening round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs and traded Pierce and Garnett not long after its early playoff exit. Allen retired from the NBA after playing two seasons in Miami, and the Heat reached the NBA Finals in both seasons with him on their roster.
