John Wall: Wizards 'couldn't get up and down the floor' with Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce was a pivotal piece for the Washington Wizards last season, and John Wall has nothing but love for his former teammate.
However, on Friday Wall told J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic that the 37-year-old Pierce did hold back the Wizards' ability to push the pace last year.
"No disrespect to Paul but we wanted to kind of be a half-court team. He couldn't get up and down the floor," Wall said. "He's not the young Paul anymore. He helped us out a lot in so many other ways in making big shots and being a leader."
The Wizards are looking to play at a faster pace this year in an effort to jump-start their 19th-ranked offense from a season ago. Replacing the aging Pierce with a spry 22-year-old in Otto Porter should give Wall a more athletic finisher on the fast break.
"Now this is an opportunity to let Otto exhale, running the floor, being able to create off the dribble, slashing to the basket ... Now Otto is getting rebounds and pushing the pace," Wall said. "(Head coach Randy Wittman) is believing in everybody and letting those guys know they can make plays just like I can."
Supercharging the fast-break attack is a smart strategy for the Wizards, who ranked seventh in the league in transition possessions last season. Powered by Wall's sublime vision and speed, Washington held the league's third-best mark with 1.17 points scored per transition play.
The 6-foot-8 Porter, a speedy wing who plays above the rim, averaged 1.38 points per play in transition as compared to Pierce's mark of 1.12 last season.
Swapping Pierce with Porter, however, will likely hurt Washington's methodical half-court offense. Pierce was the Wizards' best 3-point shooter last year, and led the team with 1.10 points per spot-up play. Porter, meanwhile, scored just 0.76 points per spot-up.
Either way, the Wizards are looking for ways to improve their offense, and judging by their transactions this offseason, Washington is hoping that a faster offense will mean a better offense.
Pierce left Washington after just one year in the nation's capital to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, who ranked 10th in pace last season.