Paul Pierce Choosing Between Wizards, Clippers For Next Season: Reports

Paul Pierce is nearing retirement but is expected to play at least one more year. The veteran forward is reportedly deciding between the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers as his team for the 2015-16 season.

The 37-year-old Pierce, who was the face of the Boston Celtics franchise for years before moving on to the Brooklyn Nets and Wizards in recent years, has until the end of June to decide if he wants to stay in Washington for another year. He has a player option in the second and final year of his contract with the Wizards worth $5.5 million.

According to an ESPN report, the Clippers may offer Pierce only the midlevel exception of about $3.4 million because of limitations in their salary cap space. The Clippers recently acquired volatile guard/forward Lance Stephenson in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets.

Meanwhile, the Wizards have the ability to offer Pierce the most amount of money -- either when he opts in with his current deal or an extension that can start at $6 million per year. Multiple reports have stated that Pierce will likely retire after the 2015-16 NBA season.

Pierce, who was the No. 10 overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, will enter his 18th NBA season next year. Despite being one of the older statesmen in the league, Pierce still averaged a respectable clip of 11.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 73 games last season. More than the stats, Pierce’s value also is in his on- and off-the-court leadership, as shown is his recent stint with the Wizards.