Paul Pierce saw a ghost, practiced some jump shots

Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce could have retired after his last contract expired. He could have walked away from the NBA with a championship ring in hand, 10 All-Star games, more than 25,000 points and nearly $184 million in career earnings to his credit. After famously resisting a trade away from the Boston Celtics prior to the exchange that sent him to Brooklyn in 2013, it seemed likely that yet another change at age 36 (and soon to be 37) might be a little too wearying.

Instead, Pierce decided to join an up-and-comer, moving to Washington to play for the Wizards in 2014-15 and potentially the season after that (should he pick up his player option for 2015-16). Keeping up with the kids means settling into game shape, and lucky for Paul he has some otherworldly influences keeping him in check.

From his Twitter account, on Tuesday morning:

OK. If your dad was on Twitter, he’d write things like this.

When I have sleeping issues, my go-to sleep aid is to visualize myself inside of some sort of Triangle-era Chicago Bulls or San Antonio Spurs-ish offense, ball moving, skip passes, sweet lay-ins, short shorts and reasonable facial hair – all sorts of cool stuff. I’ve never had a ghostly apparition inspire me to get out of bed and into the gym. You can tell by my jump shot’s limited range.

Also, “no deal” is the proper response to any ghost or goblin that is attempting to haunt you.

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Kelly Dwyer

is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops