But whenever he checked on the NBA’s free agent circus, all he saw was Eastern Conference teams adding on. Miami made the biggest splash by bringing in Chris Bosh and LeBron James to join Dwyane Wade. The Chicago Bulls improved, adding Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver, and making an offer to Orlando’s J.J. Redick. The Knicks added Amar’e Stoudemire. The Magic added Chris Duhon. And while watching it all, a part of Pierce wondered why the Celtics weren’t in the mix.
“Sometimes, I’m sitting here and I’m looking at all these players sign and I wish we’d get on the ball a little bit,’’ Pierce said. “But I trust in Danny. He’s done a good job putting a good team around us.’’
The Celtics have a lot left to accomplish in the offseason. Ainge acknowledged as much Wednesday when he introduced O’Neal in Waltham. They have a list of needs (another big man, a backup point guard, reinforcements for Allen and Pierce) and a list of targets and Ainge said the process could take until August to play out. With Perkins’s knee surgery, Tony Allen’s departure, and Rasheed Wallace’s expected retirement, the Celtics have lost more than they’ve added. It all makes Pierce antsy.
“We’ve got a lot [to do] right now,’’ Pierce said. “We don’t have a bench. We don’t have TA. We don’t have Rasheed. We’ve got to add a bench. We’ve got to add a bench. So we’ve got our work cut out for us this offseason.
“We’ve got to add perimeter defense, some shooting, maybe we need to add a point guard to help Rondo out. Definitely got to add another point guard if we don’t sign Nate [Robinson]. And we need another big. So we’ve still got a lot of work to do.’’
Pierce sounded supremely disappointed by the loss of Tony Allen, who signed a three-year, $9.5 million deal with the Grizzlies. Pierce and Allen became good friends over the past six seasons, during which Allen overcame injuries and legal troubles to become a top-level defender.
