Paul Pierce has been exactly what the Washington Wizards were missing this past season.

The future Hall-of-Famer made arguably the most surprising move of last summer when he chose to play for the Wizards, who’ve been regarded as the league’s laughing stock for quite some time. After they beat the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, though, it put the league on notice, including Pierce.

Pierce noticed the team’s lack of experience in their second round match up against the Indiana Pacers and saw it as a perfect opportunity to play with All-Star caliber talent in a weak Eastern Conference.

Even though he planned to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Wizards welcomed Paul Pierce with open arms after their main target, Trevor Ariza, opted to leave for Houston. The Clippers signed Spencer Hawes instead of Pierce during free-agency. Hawes has fallen out of their rotation. So, there’s that.

The regular season has almost become a chore for Paul Pierce, who won a championship in 2008 with the Boston Celtics, but given his age and the amount of time he has left in the NBA, he seemed to really enjoy playing along side John Wall and Co. this year. Well, he enjoyed it more than he did in Brooklyn.

Now that Washington is in the second round of the NBA Playoffs again, Paul Pierce had the chance to sit down with CSN Washington and discuss his future with the team. Pierce has a player option for next season:

“I feel like even if it’s one year, two years, or three years I’m here, I feel like I’m going to have a relationship with these guys for a long, long time even after basketball,” Pierce said. “It seems like we connect, and I connected with the city.”

Since Pierce has lived up to expectations, especially during the playoffs, you could assume that Ernie Grunfeld would want him to return for next season.

Pierce, who will turn 38-years-old next season, has given Washington a lot more than just production on the floor.

He’s helped instill the confidence that Wall, Bradley Beal, and especially Otto Porter needed to compete at the highest level on the biggest stage the NBA has to offer.

Now that Porter is living up to his status as a lottery pick, it’s expected that he’ll play a bigger role next season. With that said, Pierce would probably play an even lesser role, allowing him to continuing doing what he does best without running himself into the ground during the 82-game schedule.

Still, even though he’s enjoyed his time in the nation’s capital, there are several teams (but seriously, every team in the NBA could use Paul Pierce) in the league that could benefit from having The Truth in their locker room. The Boston Celtics could be among those teams, looking to reunite Pierce with the white and green:

One thing is certain: Regardless of how Boston looks to upgrade its roster this offseason, finding a savvy veteran like Pierce to help bring the younger players along certainly wouldn’t hurt this team’s progress.

Regardless of how much he’s enjoyed his time in D.C., Paul Pierce will always be a Celtic.

There were rumors earlier in the season that linked him to a possible front office role with the Celtics, so that could potentially open as the season comes to an end.

It’s not guaranteed that Paul Pierce will return next season. He’s in Washington right now, though. So please, don’t take him for granted. Savor every moment you can with Paul Pierce in a Wizard uniform, because he won’t be rockin’ the red-white-blue jersey for much longer.