Paul Pierce was at Pier 84 on Manhattan's West Side this afternoon when Dex Henry, NetsDaily's video journalist caught up with him. Pierce was there for the unveiling of the world's longest picnic table sponsored by Hellman's mayonnaise.
But he really wanted to talk about the Nets and rivalry he's helped create between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Dex asked if he's comfortable now, three months after the trade that brought him, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry to the Nets ... and what's impressed him.
"I'm very comfortable now," he told Dex. "I got a chance to explore the city. understand what New York basketball is really all about. You see it everywhere you go. When I walk down the street, I see it. I see Knicks fans, I see Brooklyn fan. I even walked down the street and saw a guy with a Brooklyn hat who said he was a Knicks fan. I'm really engulfed in all this."
That fan, he said, is one he'd like to target for conversion. "Hopefully, all those Brooklyn guys who are Knicks fans into being hometown fans of their team."
He told Dex that the rivalry isn't just good for New York and the NBA. "It's good for basketball," he said. He explained that one of the big aspects of the rivalry is how often Nets and Knicks players run into each other.
"These are guys you see walking down the street. these are guy who you see out at dinner. These are guys some of the other guys see out at the clubs. So there's always gonna be some verbal jabbing going on each way to try to be top dog of the city. It's gonna be fun."
Asked if he's ready, Pierce told Dex that he's "more ready than I've ever been. Right now, I see ourselves ready to win another championship. I'm more hungry than I've ever been knowing this may be my last couple of years in the league I want to make the most of it."
And he dismissed the idea of age being a factor in the Nets' success.. "We don't even talk about that. We have the added depth," he told Dex. "I don't even think age is going to be a factor." Nor is confidence!