Garnett to Celtics?
After it appeared as though Garnett would “never play in Boston”, causing some (including Mike Wilbon, who I actually like) to play the race card insisting it was Boston’s racial climate that played a role in Garnett’s decision, it appears as though a deal may be imminent:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2954127
To me, this is a no-brainer. I really like Al Jefferson, but he’s got a long way to go to become Kevin Garnett - who despite having already played 12 years in the league (yup - it’s been that long), is still only 31. (As for the rest of the players, I’m a big Ryan Gomes fan - but he’s no NBA All-Star… just a nice player who can contribute some, and Leon Powe may be ready to fill his role. Gerald Green has potential, but ain’t done nuthin’ yet. As stated, Ratliff is a coveted expiring contract. Telfair is poop.)
Think about what Kareem did with the Lakers after his 31st birthday (and after getting some kid named Magic to play with him). I’m not suggesting this would make the Celtics the equivalent of the 1980s Lakers, but I am suggesting that Garnett impacts a game as much as Kareem did. With Pierce and Allen (hoping he’s still got something left), this clearly makes the Celtics an Eastern Conference contender.
If they get lucky and Rondo at point guard develops as much, and as quickly, as Ainge thinks/hopes…. who knows, maybe the Celtics could actually be a championship contender for the first time in almost 30 years .
July 31st, 2007 at 7:24 am
This seems like a fantastic trade for the Celts. It’s the classic sports talk radio prescription - let’s trade five spare parts and a bag of balls for a superstar. Is Kevin McHale still secretly in the employ of Boston?
July 31st, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Well, Ratliff and Telfair are actually the only spare parts (actually, there more like the proverbial bags of balls). Ryan Gomes is a very serviceable 6th/7th man i.e. he’ll make a contribution to the T-Wolves (or some other NBA team) for the next 6-8 years. Gerald Green is oozing with athletic talent and his still very young - so he certainly could develop into an All-Star, although the early returns seem to indicate an athlete who doesn’t believe defense is part of the NBA game and believes he’s currently way better than he actually is… he’ll be interesting to watch develop (or not develop). Al Jefferson is a very nice player, and could easily develop into a perennial All-Star - but he’ll never be Kevin Garnett. The two first-round draft choices will be as good as McHale’s scouting/selection process is - and at least wrt the Celtics 2008 first-round pick, it really should be in the mid- to high-20s, barring some unforeseen catastrophe… as the Celtics are currently no worse than the 4th-best team in the East, perhaps even Top-3.
Kevin McHale is hoping this is the Herschel Walker deal (except that the Minnesota team is the *beneficiary*) and he’s set himself up quite well for the future. I doubt it. I think it’s more likely to be the Shaq trade - where the team getting the All-Time Great goes onto championship contendership while the team getting a bunch of young, talented players ends up in also-ran status. On a related note, aside from the Herschel deal, it seems like these “great player” for “a lot of young, untested, lesser-talented players” type of deals generally work in favor of the team getting the great player.
In addition to Rondo, the other keys for the Celts will be (a) Tony Allen’s return from injury, and the development of (b) Leon Powe and (c) Glenn “Big Baby” Davis. In addition to those existing parts, it’ll be interesting to see which “low-cost” veterans Ainge will now be able to attract as role players to an apparent Conference Championship Contender i.e. a veteran point guard to mentor/spell Rondo, and a veteran big body to help mentor/spell starting center Kendrick Perkins (think Luc Longley but not as good a shooter).
Finally, I’ve heard it mentioned several times and I agree with the following: Ainge has now given Doc Rivers a good team, so there are no excuses if this team does not play well. Many have questioned Doc’s coaching abilities, but (at least with the Celtics) he’s been able to hide behind “the team is so young”… not anymore. If he can coach ‘em up, the Celtics now have the veteran talent necessary to be an annual contender for a Finals appearance for the next several years at least.
One other thing: Some nitwits are whining that Ainge has mortgaged the future, to which I just have to say… shut up. Ainge has shown that he drafts very well, especially late in rounds (which he should be doing once again with this team) - and they still have some young parts (most notably at point guard) to be developed. This is a no-brainer deal, to acquire someone with Garnett’s talent, desire, and work ethic. Great trade.
July 31st, 2007 at 8:53 pm
The many-mediocrities-for-one-superstar trades always benefit the team getting the superstar, I think, since you can only have five guys on the court at a time regardless of how many mediocrities you’ve managed to stockpile.
And I agree, anyone sweating the two draft picks should just shut up. They have significant value, but neither is likely to yield a Garnett, and for the reasons stated above, drafting two guys half as good as Garnett doesn’t equal drafting a Garnett.
July 31st, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Oh, the obvious flaw in my theory - the hideous results of the Herschel Walker trade - I dismiss because
a) as a Vikings fan I can’t bear to consider it, even though for one fleeting moment, after Walker ran back his first kickoff return for a touchdown WITH ONE SHOE, it seemed brilliant, and
b) the Vikings are a black hole into which hope and optimism are relentlessly sucked, never to be heard from again, such that the laws of physics and trades do not apply to them.
August 1st, 2007 at 9:21 am
Indeed the Herschel Walker Trade is the proverbial exception that proves the rule. Plus, unlike football where (excluding kickers), you have 22 starters - and thus at least 22 positions to fill on a 45-man roster - in basketball, as you note, you have 5 starters, on a 12-man roster.
I’ll take the superstar for a bunch of lesser players pretty much every time in the NBA - especially when the superstar is arguably an All-Time Great.