U Mad? 8 NBA Players Who Just Got Called Out by Paul Pierce

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What Pierce said about him: "Before I got [to Brooklyn], I looked at Deron as an MVP candidate. But I felt once we got there, that's not what he wanted to be. He just didn't want that. I think a lot of the pressure got to him sometimes. This was his first time in the national spotlight. The media in Utah is not the same as the media in New York, so that can wear on some people. I think it really affected him."

Should he be mad? Yes. People have wondered why Williams has been a bust in Brooklyn…and Pierce may have just shed a lot of light on it.

What Pierce said about him: "Joe is quiet. He doesn't want much attention. He doesn't say much. There's a lot of secondary guys on [the Nets]. KG and I went there looking at [Deron Williams and Johnson] as the main guys who would push us, because we were advancing in years. But we ended up doing all the pushing…It was a tough situation [in Brooklyn] last year. Horrible, really. It was just the guys' attitudes there. It wasn't like we were surrounded by a bunch of young guys. They were vets who didn't want to play and didn't want to practice. I was looking around saying, 'What's this?' Kevin [Garnett] and I had to pick them up every day in practice. If me and Kevin weren't there, that team would have folded up. We kept them going each and every day."

Should he be mad? Yes. Especially when you consider that Johnson—and Deron Williams—have pretty much proved what Pierce just said by struggling to lead the Nets back to the postseason without Pierce and Garnett.

What Pierce said about them: "I keep telling Wall and Beal, 'You've got to make up your mind. Do you want to be good, or do you want to be great? Because if you want to be great, you gotta do it every single night, not just when you feel like it.' Both of those guys have the potential to be great. I love them. But sometimes, I'm not sure they realize what it takes."

Should they be mad? No. And if they are, they're probably in the wrong business.

What Pierce said about him: "[Playing great consistently] was Rondo's problem, too. Some days he did, some days he didn't. I think it's more his generation. A lot of these players have been catered to since the sixth grade. The NBA is changing so much. It's not like when I came up, with that old-school mentality that practice really mattered. You've got these 24, 25 year old guys who sit out of practice now to rest. It's hard for me to understand, but I'm trying."

Should he be mad? No. Pierce went in on almost everyone else on this list. Comparatively speaking, Rondo got off easy.

What Pierce said about him: "Otto is another one who just doesn't understand how good he is. He can shoot, he's a slasher, he can defend, I'm just not sure how badly he wants it every day. That kid just needs to get mad. If he came to practice ticked off and to the games ticked off, he'd be fine. But it's hard to get Otto mad. I should punch him one day just to get him riled up."

Should he be mad? No. Unless, of course, Pierce actually punches him in the face.

What Pierce said about him: "We were all good friends on the court, but Ray always did his own thing. That's just the way Ray was. Even when we were playing together, we'd be having a team dinner and Ray wouldn't show up. We'd go to his charity events but Ray wouldn't show up to somebody else's. I called him on it. I said, 'Man, Ray, we support all your stuff but when we ask you, you don't come to ours.' I remember when Rondo re-signed with Boston, we had a little dinner at a restaurant and Ray didn't show up. I know Ray probably didn't like Rondo that much, but it wasn't a fact of not liking somebody. You don't have to like everybody you play with—it's a matter of showing support. Rondo probably didn't like Ray either, but he came to Ray's functions to show, 'Hey, we're together in this.'...It's not a bad thing with Ray. We had a great relationship on the court. But even the year we won it, after a game we'd say, 'Let's go have something to eat and have a night with the older guys.' We'd get there and it would be me, Kevin, and Sam [Cassell], but no Ray. In a lot of ways, me, Sam, and Kevin were our Big Three."

Should he be mad? Yes. Why don't you tell us how you really feel about Allen, Paul?! Also, the idea of Pierce, Garnett, and Cassell being the Celtics' Big Three is amazing.

What Pierce said about him: "I always say I wish I was in my prime matching up against LeBron. Let's see how many championships he would have won then."

Should he be mad? Yes. He just questioned your entire legacy, son!