There was no doubt in Paul Pierce's mind where he was going to end up after opting out of the final year of his contract with the Celtics this summer.

It was always Boston.

The Truth signed the dotted line last week on a four-year, $61 million deal that will keep him a Celtic through the 2013-2014 season, which would be his 16th in the NBA.

"I never thought once about leaving the Celtics," Paul said. "I knew this was where I wanted to be -- I knew I wanted to retire as a Celtic. I never really had any doubts."

Instead, the reason for Paul's opt-out was selfless. While it did guarantee him four more years in Boston rather than just the one his old contract offered, No. 34 also made the move to give the Celtics some financial flexibility to continue building a championship contender.

"After the season, I wanted this team to get better, knowing we didn't win a championship," he said. "I opted out and took less money to improve the team. I also wanted to ensure I retired as a Celtic. It was a win-win situation."

The restructuring of Paul's deal helped the Celtics retain guards Ray Allen and Nate Robinson as well as add veteran big man Jermaine O'Neal to gain some frontcourt depth.

"I think it was a great move by Danny (Ainge) to pick up Jermaine," he said. "We definitely needed some inside presence. Danny has done a good job. But you see all of these good players falling to these other teams, like Chicago and New York. It makes you realize that there’s work to do."

And what of the South Beach trio that will be looking to make a run at Boston's Eastern Conference crown next season?

"They definitely boosted their talent," The Truth said. "Them, with the Lakers, are going to be considered the favorites and I think with the moves that they made, a lot of teams are going to really try to counter, when they think about adding their pieces. Especially teams at the top, such as ourselves and Orlando."

But No. 34 knows all the Celtics can do is worry about improving themselves, not the teams around them. Boston learned the hard way in last year's Finals, when center Kendrick Perkins went down with a knee injury forcing him to miss Game 7, that depth is a necessity.

"We’ve got a lot [to do] right now," Paul told the Boston Globe. "We don’t have a bench. We don’t have TA [Tony Allen]. We don’t have Rasheed. We’ve got to add a bench. We’ve got to add a bench. So we’ve got our work cut out for us this offseason."

Paul said that after Boston took a 3-2 series lead back to LA, one win from winning another title, the loss in the Finals still haunts him to this day. But he's going to use it to fuel the fire and can't wait to get back to training camp this September.

"It's difficult," No. 34 said last week, admitting he still thinks about the Game 7 loss. "I think it's one of the hardest losses I've ever had to take in my career. As much as you want to put it behind you, it's hard. I've thought about it pretty much every day. It's driving me crazy knowing we could have won our second title in three years. I'm using it as motivation, for the next four years, or for however long I'll be a Celtic."

The Truth will enter his 13th year as a member of the Celtics this fall. Over the first 12 years of his career, No. 34 has averaged 22.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. He is an eight-time All-Star and was a vital piece in Boston's 17th NBA championship victory in 2008. Now he'll have four more years to add to his legacy in Beantown.

"It means everything," Pierce said. "Just knowing that I've had a place in this franchise for a long time, knowing that there are not a lot of players that get that opportunity, knowing that my legacy is all going to be left with this one ballclub. That's big."

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