Paul Pierce aims for banners in Brooklyn

Paul Pierce says he’s still getting used to the streets of New York after his trade to the Nets this summer, but he’s already familiar with what it takes to maintain a fierce rivalry with the Knicks and to win a championship.

Now, he said he’s ready to do both and propel his new team to a level of respectability that hasn’t been seen since he’s been in the NBA.

“I think that’s what they’re trying to build, but in order to do that you gotta have the players, you gotta have great management, you have to have great owners and that’s what I see in place in Brooklyn,” Pierce said yesterday while promoting the Sprint 4G LTE Tour on the Lower East Side.

Pierce, who won a championship in 2008 with the Celtics, said the Nets have all the pieces in place to win a title, but the players must be willing to make sacrifices.

“It’s going to take doing things that you don’t usually do for the better of the ballclub,” Pierce said.

The 15-year veteran said he’s cherishing the opportunity to be a big part of his new franchise’s history.

“I want to say ‘I was one of the first guys to put a banner in Brooklyn,’” Pierce said.