ESPN parted ways with Paul Pierce shortly after an Instagram Live clip went viral in April.

Pierce and ESPN were already strained as he hated the travel and network executives didn't think he was working hard enough.

“I was done with them, anyway,” said Pierce. “It wasn’t a great fit. There’s a lot of stuff over there that you can’t say. And you have to talk about LeBron [James] all the time.”

Pierce was hired by ESPN in 2017 immediately after he retired as a player. Pierce was an in-studio analyst on NBA Countdown and also frequently appeared on The Jump with Rachel Nichols. ESPN has since canceled The Jump and have effectively parted ways with Nichols.