Will Paul Pierce return to the Brooklyn Nets next season?

Paul Pierce will become a free agent on July 1st and from the sound of the recent rumors he may not be back in a Brooklyn Nets uniform.

ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk wrote last week  “The odds don’t sound good of a Pierce return.  Those in and around the Nets organization are unsure what Pierce will do. But it’s only May. He has plenty of time to make up his mind. My guess is that Pierce will wait to see what the Nets can do to improve the roster. If the Nets are unable to make significant improvements, he could end up going elsewhere by mid to late July.”

The Chicago Sun Times reported that the Chicago Bulls may have an interest in Pierce with the previous relationship to coach Tom Thibodeau with the Boston Celtics.

The Bulls will try to go big. If it doesn’t happen, they could use the money from Boozer’s contract to add depth with a player such as Shawn Marion or Paul Pierce.

Pierce did not have the best season of his career averaging a  career-low with 13.5 points in 28.0 minutes per game during the regular season and averaged 13.7 points in 30.7 minutes per game in the playoffs with Brooklyn as they lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Miami Heat in five games.

Nets GM Billy King said Thursday that he hopes to keep the Nets’ “core” together and by that he means Pierce and Kevin Garnett playing at least another year for the Nets.

Brooklyn cannot afford to lose either of the two after giving up so much to get them and Nets fans would love another shot at the title with a few tweaks to the roster and the nucleus staying the same.

Time will tell once July hits as to whether Pierce enjoyed his time in Brooklyn enough to want another chance at winning a ring with the sub-par Deron Williams leading the way.

Let’s all hope he wants another crack at the title and thinks Brooklyn is the place to do it.