Paul Pierce lashes out at Kevin Durant’s decision to join the Warriors

When Kevin Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors, Paul Pierce let it be known that he was not pleased.

In an interview with Sirius XM NBA Radio, Pierce explained his thoughts further. In doing so, he expressed his frustration with the current generation of players.

First thing’s first. When Pierce says that the current generation isn’t as tough as his, he’s really just fulfilling what seems to be a requirement of older players. Every old player thinks that his era was the best and toughest. Several of them are more than willing to say that whenever they get a live microphone.

It may be frustrating if you’re a fan of a team that’s being bashed, but it’s nothing new. If you don’t think the current players will do the same thing 20 years from now, you’re kidding yourself.

These guys have every right to their opinions, but no right to make them matter. If you take the comments seriously and they really bother you, that’s your fault.

As far as the rest of Pierce’s comments go…

Until the day comes when Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and Chris Webber host a show where they take turns criticizing athletes for not winning championships, this is about the stupidest, most hypocritical thing that an athlete can say.

Pierce, of course, won his only championship as part of a super team. Before Kevin Durant signed with the Warriors in 2016, or LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined forces with Dwyane Wade in 2010, the Boston Celtics had their own super team.

Following the 2006-07 season, the Celtics acquired future Hall of Famers Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to group with their own future Hall of Famer, Pierce.

The following June, Boston won Pierce’s first (and to date, only) championship. This was not a team built through the draft that paid its dues and finally won. This was a superteam and it cut corners.

Sure, the Celtics cut corners in a completely legal fashion. But they cut corners. To win, they didn’t go through the same obstacles that many teams before and since have gone through.

That was nearly a decade ago. New superteams like Warriors, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers have come together since. But if we want to remember the past, we have to remember it for what actually happened — not simply what we want to believe happened.

Pierce was pressed about this in his interview. His response was that Allen and Garnett were acquired via trades, not free agency. He even added, “That’s how you build teams.” (H/T Andrew Gould, Bleacher Report).

Come on, Paul.

As a reminder, Garnett, and to a lesser extent, Allen, both pouted their ways out of their previous homes. Or, to put it another way. They signed contracts, and before the deals were over, whined until they were moved.

Durant, meanwhile, honored his contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He played it out. And when the time came for him to choose where he played — a right that was collectively bargained by players — he went to Golden State.

Which situation really seems wrong here?

If Pierce and his Los Angeles Clippers teammates want to use the current super team in the division as further motivation — fine. That’s common. When a given team is getting all of the hype, it gets a target on its back. The Warriors have earned that.

But Pierce seems to be justifying that by making comments that are simply not truthful. When called on his hypocrisy, he backed it up with even more hypocrisy.

Sure, Pierce can remember the past and spin it however he wants. But if he’s not doing so in a truthful way, Pierce’s opinions shouldn’t be taken seriously.