Pierce Talks Bill Clinton, KG and About Being a General Manager

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By: Greg Payne

CBS Sports.com caught up with Paul Pierce and got his take on a variety of topics. Here's an excerpt:

CBS: How much longer do you see yourself playing?

Pierce: My goal right now is four years. If I can continue and be productive in this league, who knows? Maybe longer.

Pierce: [Laughing] Coaching is hard. I don't know how Doc [Rivers] deals with me. GM would be ideal. I like putting together the talent. I'm always up in Danny [Ainge's] office, "This guy can help us. Let's go get P.J. Brown." I think I have a knack for that. This is a true story. I told [Ainge] that if we got get Kevin Garnett or Pau Gasol, we'll win a championship.

Pierce was of course asked about the state of Kevin Garnett. If you'll recall, the following observations of Garnett by Pierce were reported yesterday:

“It wasn’t like he was out there [screaming] and dunking,” Pierce said. “No, none of that. But he was out there on the court.”

And here's what he said to CBS:

He's good. He'll be ready for training camp. I know he's been working hard this summer. Getting back in shape, getting his leg strong. I know he's been on the court working out. We're happy he's coming back.

The only thing that's slightly unsettling here is that training camp starts Monday. Right now it appears as if he's on his way back, but he's still not the Garnett we want to see. How will that drastically change in the two days we have left before training camp kicks off on Monday? Or, does 'ready' mean Garnett's just going to be there, partaking in some shooting drills and things like that? I wrote earlier this week about how KG doesn't have to be healthy right now, but if he's not 100 percent, and it appears he isn't, why doesn't anyone just say it?

If training camp was still weeks or even months away and Garnett was this far along in his rehab, then I'd probably be optimistic. But the fact that we're just two days away from kicking off camp and he's still not going full bore has me believing we might not be seeing him for a little while. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because the playoffs are all that matter. I just wish we were being told we aren't going to see him for a little while.