A Closer Look at the Kevin Garnett Trade
The response to the imminent KG to Boston trade has been mixed, to say the least. Listening to the radio yesterday I was hearing caller after caller claim that Boston was going to win the championship this year. Then again they were also claiming the Patriots were going to be 16-0 and capture the Lombardi Trophy. This, of course, after the Red Sox win the World Series this year. Ok, so they weren’t the brightest of callers, but could they be right about the Celtics? After all, the Cavaliers made it to the NBA Finals with LeBron James and his “supporting cast”, so why can’t the Celtics do the same? There’s no doubt that the Celtics are going to have the best starting lineup in the East this year with Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Kendrick Perkins. But for all the talk about them being better than the Cavs, let’s not forget one very important thing; the Cavs were swept by the Spurs. Does this trade make the Celtics the best team in the NBA? No, not even close. So, in reality, the Celtics will need to win the East and then hope for some serious luck in the finals.
Now let’s look at the other side of the coin. Critics of this trade point out that the Celtics traded away a very promising big man in Al Jefferson and a slew of other players and draft picks for a guy towards the end of his prime. Ryan Gomes is a great utility player and would have been an excellent fit for the Celtics this year, and who knows what they could have done with the two first-round draft picks they traded. Some people are still saying that Gerald Green has a ton of potential and may pan out one day. This team has no depth. At first this was the side that I was on for this trade. But let’s start over and take a closer look at this trade.
The Celtics receive Kevin Garnett, one of the greatest players to ever play this game. Garnett is the ultimate team player that has been surrounded by a pathetic group of players his entire career. Last year he was playing with Randy Foye, Ricky Davis, Trenton Hassell, and Mark Blount. His team didn’t even have a solid point guard situation. Now he’s got a promising point in Rajon Rondo, an excellent pair of scorers in Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, and a solid center in Kendrick Perkins. Ray Allen has been in a similar situation in that he has had little to no talent around him, and Paul Pierce has never been comfortable as being the face of the franchise. So now all three players are in their ideal situations and will be able to play comfortably.
Many people are saying that the Celtics have a 4 year window and then they’re done, but I’m not so sure about that. This trade signals a change in the philosophy for the Celtics. Free agents will be more willing to entertain the idea of coming to Boston, so they should be able to get a solid player in the future with the veteran exemption. The Celtics are going to be winners, make no doubt about it. Whether or not they can win a championship remains to be seen, but they will be winners. Even when these big 3 retire, the Celtics will be seen as an organization that is about winning. That perception will go a long way in building for the future. But for the time being, this is going to be a fun team to watch.
