Paul Pierce doesn’t hold a grudge against Danny Ainge or the Boston Celtics ownership group in the wake of the trade that sent him to Brooklyn.

"I understand they're a business. At the end of the day it's not about Paul Pierce. The Boston Celtics have a business to run, and [they're] going to be around a lot longer than I'm going to be able to play," Pierce said. "It was really a business decision. You saw the writing on the wall at the end of the year when Doc (Rivers) was the first one to head out. So I knew at that point that something was going to happen.”

Pierce characterized his departure as a mutual decision between him and the Celtics.

"They decided to go into rebuild mode. At this stage in my career, none of us want to be a part of rebuild mode especially when you've had a taste of success,” Pierce said. “I just thought at the end it started to become mutual. They were going in a direction that I didn't want to go in. Brooklyn Nets trade was a great opportunity for me to extend my career and try to win another championship."