Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. And Ray Allen.
The bond of the Big Three that brought the Boston Celtics Banner 17 in 2008 was severed when Allen ditched the C’s for the Miami Heat in 2012.
Ever since then, there has been a well-documented beef. Both Pierce and Garnett (but especially Garnett) are not too fond of their former Celtics teammate. But recent events last weekend have sparked a new conversation. Is the feud over?
At the NBA’s 75th Anniversary ceremony at All-Star weekend, all three were in attendance, and ended up taking a picture together. The picture blew up on Celtics Twitter and got fans talking. On the latest edition of the A List Podcast on CLNS Media, A. Sherrod Blakely expressed his skepticism.
“I just don’t think they’re ever going to get to a point where they’re like good, good with each other. I think there’s always going to be a certain element of discontentment among them. And again, I think it’s petty, but there’s a part of me that kind of cringes at that at the same time kind of likes the pettiness.”
Pierce actually posted the photo to his Instagram, which was a big part of the debate. Gary Washburn pointed out that the fact that Pierce went out of his way to post the picture means something. And the fact that Garnett was smiling is important to note, too.
“He [Paul Pierce] posted the photo, so obviously someone either he knew took it, or someone sent it to him, or to his camera phone. He had to take it. The fact that Kevin even took the picture, I think, is major progress. Secondly, Kevin was smiling. Okay, so either Kevin put on a big front for his boy or Kevin softened a little bit.”
The fifth picture of the slideshow has the three standing in a row smiling. But Washburn posed one crucial question – when was the picture taken?
“Now, the question is, was the picture taken before or after the introduction? Was it taken in when they were back there or was taken before when they were doing photoshoots?”
Before the All-Star Game began, all those who made the NBA 75 team gathered together for photos. If the picture was taken then, it would have occurred before the actual ceremony. That’s important because of the events that unfolded at the ceremony.
A video went viral of when Allen’s name was announced. He was seen greeting LeBron James, but Garnett and Pierce were in the background of the video. Garnett visibly grimaced and clenched his fist. So, if the picture was taken beforehand, what happened in between the two events?
Washburn also noted that Garnett’s decision to take the picture at all was the most important factor of the event.
“I think the picture is a major situation because Kevin doesn’t do anything on accident or to be nice. So, Kevin had to want to do it, because if not, they would have taken pictures to Hall of Fame.”
When Allen was introduced at the Hall of Fame, Garnett left the stage, as he has previously been up there to introduce Pierce. It’s been a long, drawn-out beef, and while the picture means an end could be in sight, it’s impossible to know for sure.
