Danny Ainge candidly admitted the Boston Celtics face a difficult decision on whether to buyout Paul Pierce’s contract for the 2013-14 season.

The Celtics have a team option on Pierce’s contract for next season at $15.3 million, with a $5 million buyout before June 30.

"What's important to understand, yeah, it's going to be hard for fans and everybody else, but as far as what's doing what's best for the Celtics, it's probably going to be very hard, too," Ainge told CSNNE.com. "It's not a no-brainer. It's not like you get a 21-year-old All-Star player, or you get the number one pick in the draft [if you let Pierce go]. Those decisions would not be hard, but I have a feeling the decision is going to be very hard, yeah."



Ainge made it clear that no decision on Pierce's future had been made.

"I have not even discussed that with anyone within our franchise yet," Ainge said. "So that's something for like a few weeks from now to contemplate."