NBA fans recount Paul Pierce's live saga after 'Undisputed' segment: "Subject matter expert when it comes to meeting people from IG"

During a recent segment of the NBA podcast "Undisputed," former NBA champion Paul Pierce compared former NBA champion and ESPN analyst JJ Redick to Instagram models. There are rumors about the Lakers trying to recruit Redick to replace Darvin Ham after he was fired when the LA Lakers were eliminated from the season.

Pierce made the analogy to highlight that though JJ Redick sounds good on his podcasts, in which he draws up plays and flaunts his basketball IQ, his coaching acumen may not translate in reality for the Lakers.

"It's like an Instagram model," Pierce said. "It looks all good all right there when you're scrolling, but when you see in person, it ain't what you think." [5:51 onwards].

Post-airing of the segment, NBA fans took to social media to correlate what Pierce said on the show to a previous incident that featured the former Boston Celtics star talking about hiring a woman to be his girlfriend for the day.

"I would consider Paul Pierce a subject matter expert when it comes to meeting up with people from IG," a fan said. "He was comfortable enough to talk about rent a girlfriend on a live broadcast, he’s been in the trenches."

"PP is speaking with experience regarding the IG models," a fan said.

"My guy speaking from experience," a fan said.

Others had the same sentiment for Pierce:

"Paul Pierce knows a lot about IG models," a fan said.

"I think PP been sliding into some DMs," a fan said.

"🤣😭 You can always count on Paul to not hold back," a fan said.

Paul Pierce had previously appeared on his former teammate Kevin Garnett's showtime series 'KG Certified' which streamed live during Game 3 of the Miami Heat vs. Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals.

During the show, Pierce introduced Garnett to a woman he said he hired to be his girlfriend for the day, while Garnett attempted to get things back on track by highlighting what was happening on the court.

"This is my girlfriend for the day, they got a website where you can hire girlfriends for the day, so I got a girlfriend for the day," Pierce said.

Paul Pierce opens up about being fired from ESPN after an IG live session

Paul Pierce was fired from ESPN in 2021 after he was seen smoking and drinking alongside exotic dancers on his Instagram Live. The 10-time NBA All-Star opened up about the firing during an interview with the 'I Am Athlete' podcast in 2023.

"I got fired for having some entertainment," Pierce said of the incident. "What did I do wrong? ... I’m playing cards, [it’s] my boy’s birthday, there’s girls dancing, and we’re blowing some tree. What did I do wrong?"

Though it didn't appear that he was doing anything illegal, Pierce was reportedly fired from ESPN for violating a morals clause in his contract.