The Los Angeles Clippers seem to have gotten back on track recently as they have won six of their last seven games and are now 13-9. In each of those last seven games, Paul Pierce has not played more than 15 minutes, and he has not contributed all that much to the Clippers this season like he was expected to. Pierce says he has thought about retirement, and although he didn't say whether he would or wouldn't, he seems to be leaning toward this being his final season, according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register.
The Clippers defeated the Bucks on Wednesday night, and in that game Pierce played just six minutes and scored one point. With his production at an all-time low and seeing Kobe Bryant announce his retirement, naturally the subject of retirement came up, and he didn't exactly tip his hand.
"Right now, I'm year by year. Like I reevaluated what I was going to do this summer, I will do the same thing next summer. It will be possibly that I don't play next year, but that's something I'll evaluate with myself and my family. You just listen to your body, you go through the 82-game grind, how physically and mentally you're invested into it. I think the older you get and the less and less you're able to do things that you could do before, you start thinking about maybe it's that time," said Pierce.
Pierce is averaging just 17.5 minutes per game, and that has been on the decline recently. He has appeared in all but one game, and when he is on the floor he has been bad, as his shooting percentage is below 30 and his PER is an unbelievably low 5.5. These numbers make it seem like Pierce is near, or already at, the end of his rope.
Pierce's role with the Clippers seems to gradually be getting smaller as the season moves on, but head coach Doc Rivers is not worried about him and believes he will still contribute. Rivers believes Pierce's slow start is due to his advanced age but that he will find his groove and be a key for the Clippers down the road. Pierce did hit some big shots for the Washington Wizards at the end of last season and in the playoffs, so it is possible that he can still contribute, but right now he looks like a player who is done and should call it quits when this season is over.
