A: This is a fascinating comparison, a player who spent the first 15 seasons of his career with one team, then jumped to three others briefly before retiring. Like Wade after 13 seasons with the Heat, Pierce left Boston close to the top of his game. Then there was an uneven playoff season in Brooklyn for Pierce, another uneven playoff season in Washington, followed by a pair fall-of-the-map seasons with the Clippers. Pierce simply was never the same threat he was in Boston, wound up hopscotching around the NBA without much of a team identity. Now there is Wade first in Chicago for one nominal playoff season, off to Cleveland, and then likely to move on yet again if LeBron James makes his expected shift elsewhere next season. And yet, through, it all, Pierce never lost his iconic stature in Boston, where he ceremonially retired, to now have his number retired. That's what should also be considered here, that once you make your mark in the NBA, you continue to be identified with the franchise you made your mark. So Paul Pierce is forever a Celtics. Patrick Ewing forever a Knick. And Dwyane Wade, soon enough, forever a Heat.