32-year old small forward Paul Pierce has opted out of the final year of his contract with the Celtics making him a unrestricted free agent. Pierce leaves $21 million bucks on the table as he attempts to get a nice multi-year deal. Pierce played in 71 games (all starts) for the Celtics last season and he averaged 34.0 minutes, 18.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He has played in 884 games (881 starts) in his career with the Celtics and he has averaged 37.3 minutes, 22.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Pierce is #8 all time in Celtics’ history in games played (884), #9 in rebounds (5,417), #7 in assists (3,401), #2 in steals (1,349), #5 in blocked shots (561) and he is #3 in points (19,899). The Celtics likely want to bring back Pierce but because of his age they have to be careful with how many years they would offer.

UPDATE: (7/3/2010) – The Celtics have reportedly re-signed Paul Pierce to a 4-year, $61 million dollar contract.