Gary Sheffield Jr Calls Paul Pierce A Hater After Hot Take On Damian Lillard And Miami Heat

Former NBA player Paul Pierce again made himself the topic of conversations.

When it was revealed that the Miami Heat became favorites to land Portland Trail Blazers’ star Damian Lillard in free agency, most fans were optimistic. But not Pierce. During an episode of Showtime Basketball’s What’s Burnin', he gave his hot take on the potential move.

“You put them [Lillard, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo] together, they won’t make it out of the first round,” Pierce said.

His take left many NBA pundits wondering whether Pierce spoke off basketball experience or just emotion. On a recent episode of The Old Couple podcast with Rob Parker and Gary Sheffield Jr., Sheffield referred to Pierce as a “hater”.

“You are such a hater,” Sheffield said. “To me, it just doesn’t make sense because let’s be very clear about Paul Pierce. He’s bitter because he joined the Brooklyn Nets and I like Paul Pierce. But he joined the Brooklyn Nets and he looked older than the president.”

Sheffield could have a point.

After playing 15 seasons with the Boston Celtics and winning a championship in 2008, Pierce was traded to the Nets in 2013. With a Nets roster featuring Celtics’ teammate Kevin Garrett, Pierce hoped to win another championship. But it never happened as they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Heat.

It could be the reason Pierce lacks love for the Heat. Or maybe it goes back to the Heat’s “Big Three.” When LeBron James, Dywane Wade, and Chris Bosh teamed up in Miami, it ignited the Heat and Celtics rivalry. In 2012, Celtics’ sharpshooter Ray Allen joined them which caused the rivalry to grow.

Whatever the reason is for Pierce’s comments, they were a bit of a stretch.

Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog HERE.