As his former teammate Antoine Walker plainly observed recently, Pierce chose to re-sign with the Celtics. Big mistake. As this season's standings make clear, the Celtics aren't anywhere close to contending, which is sure to wear on a player who suggested the team trade its No. 1 pick this year to acquire more ready-to-play talent. With a front office seemingly unwilling to make that sort of deal, Pierce isn't likely to keep playing the good solider for long.