Phones by Mandrills
Ok, fine. This past year led me slowly toward apathy with the KG-Minnesota situation. When the Garnett-to-Phoenix rumors popped off a month ago, I was as excited about the NBA as I have been in quite some time. I want KG to be happy. Giving up a no-trade clause to play for the Suns is a dignified way to leave Minnesota, which the fans could sympathize with. Plus, I wouldn't have to feel like I was really switching allegiances. The Suns are America's team, and I could gladly root for a KG-Nash title (same when I heard about the KG to the Golden State Warriors rumor). But the Celtics? Everyone hates the Celtics. That's about as ugly a thought as Iverson in baby blue Nuggs gear. With rumors ablaze, who even knows if a deal will go down. But the fact that KG would drop his no-trade clause to head to Boston makes me reach for the Pepto Bismol.
I don't like Boston. Maybe it's because the 2004 Red Sox partially alienated me from sports. Maybe because I lived in New York for a few years. Maybe because I have some bad memories. Maybe because I once got beat in a rap battle in Cambridge by a dude named Reks at the Middle East. I enjoy the Patriots, conceptually, and am happy to see Randy Moss there. But ever since Paul Pierce got stabbed (cf. a Billups post, and a Simmons article that I can't currently locate), something in the water changed with that Celtics team that seems to reflect my distaste for Boston more broadly. The screwface, the air of deservingness, the smug sense of tradition: THESE ATTRIBUTES ARE NOT KEVIN GARNETT.
After that Glen Taylor-quoted article about Garnett enjoying the "teacher role," I thought KG was going to die a peaceful death, spending the last of his days teaching Corey Brewer how to rebound and Rashad McCants how to walk like a man. Garnett was no dummy. He also knew that this route would alleviate the pressure of having never won a championship. He could walk tall, knowing that he never pulled a "Finley," a "Drexler" or a failed-Barkley. Choosing to go to Boston, though, means that monkey's on his back again. Teaming up with PP and RayRay means declaring war like Pace Won. And is that lineup really putting the fear of God in anybody? Tim Duncan is wearing a Speedo right now, shaking the chlorine out of his ears, laughing. Shaq? Well, this is all the motivation he needed to care about winning the Eastern Conference again. And the embarrassment if this Celtics team falters in the first round? As a KG-fan FIRST and foremost, I won't be able to bare it.
Not pushing the panic button till things are confirmed though. Will stay tuned.
Also: SHOALS' BONUS DONAGHY COVERAGE
posted by Dr. Lawyer IndianChief @ 7/30/2007 11:40:00 AM
48 comments
48 Comments:
As a Minneapolitan and KG apostle, DLIC expresses my thoughts exactly. I'm sick to death at the thought of KG in Boston. And at the thought of McHale trying to bring Al Jefferson up in his own image. Any chance we can trade McFail to Sac-town to fulfill his destiny as mentor to Spencer Hawes?
i'm developing a real dirty habit of looking for puppeteering in NBA news these days, even knowing full well that such theorizing is pretty played. but the news of this garnett biz just reminded me that AI trade progress was nil until there was the knicks/nuggets shoves and suspensions and then an AI trade stole headlines. granted, there was situational motivation there (denver needed bodies), but i nonetheless catch echoes now that we're seeing perhaps another superstar traded just after a media driven black eye for the league.
when the NBA is in need of big, favorable headlines, perhaps encouraging big, newsworthy trades is a tactic they favor?
i know, probably silly, but i'll now have my eye on it.
Darkofan: Latest reports say Jefferson is not part of current discussions. That has to make you feel a little better about it, no ?
Well, be comforted by the fact that most Celtics fans seem opposed to this deal (myself included). As great as KG is, I'd much rather have Jefferson (who's only 22) for the next ten years or so.
As for the Celtics fanbase being smug: um, what else do you expect? Any franchise that has (or had) success for a long period time tends to create certain expectations among its fans, whether they're reasonable or not.
(I do have to say, though, that the arrogance of Celtics fans isn't quite what it used to be. The twenty-one year championship drought has made the fanbase like that of any other team in the league)
Just wanted to say, my Boston-bashing was probably unnecessary. Just taking out some personal frustrations. I'm from Minneapolis and living in Chicago. Feel free to make fun of that.
As a Minneapolis resident KG is the only sports figure worth bothering caring about. I thought that we had heard the end of this trade talk, and that if anything the Suns was the place (if any) for him to go. And then this - Boston? At first I was upset, but then I remembered something, this is the EAST! I may not be scared of a Jesus, Pierce and Big Ticket lineup in the west but playing in a conference with the knicks, bobcats and pacers? yes please. kg doesn't ever have to take a big shot again, and can just be him. And if Jefferson is not part of the deal McFail should be strung up from the Target Center rafters (maybe we should do that first?)
It's depressing that KG leaving to try to win a championship ends up with him going to play with 2 guys who haven't been championship caliber leaders since '01. Seems like a waste to me.
This is just to let my friends and family know I am going to turn off my phone now.
Jackie MacMullan is evidently on ESPN News saying the thing is done. Deal looks at least better than originally reported. At least one first rounder, maybe another one...Jefferson. I won't believe isht till it's confirmed, though, and supposedly KG is on a cruise till the end of the week.
KG's on a cruise?
Sounds to me like McHale was scared to do it with KG around!
I'll believe it when I see Garnett in green.
Sean: Celtic fans who don't believe Garnett is better than Jefferson are exactly the reason this trade shouldn't happen. You're already to put the blame for your future first-round knockout on his shoulders. Ugh.
Not that I have any beef with you, I normally like your comments, I just don't think you properly appreciate what your team is rumored to be getting....
DLIC: Your Boston-bashing wasn't entirely unreasonable. We New Englanders can be very provincial at times (especially when it comes to sports), and I can understand why that might rub people from other parts of the country the wrong way sometimes.
Speaking of Bostonian arrogance: if the KG trade happens, the New England sports landscape is going to have a ridiculous amount of star power.
Celtics: KG, Pierce, Allen
Patriots: Brady, Moss, Seymour, and all the other usual suspects
Red Sox: Big Papi, Man-Ram, Schilling, Beckett, Dice-K, Papelbon
Stopmikelupica: I'm not saying Jefferson is better than Garnett, or that KG should be blamed if the Celtics don't win (the owners, Ainge, and Rivers are the ones who deserve that). I just don't think paying three guys (who are all 30+ years old) $60 million a year is a smart plan for the future; it reeks of desperation on Ainge's part.
Thank you Kevin. There are very few people in free society that can out-crazy McCants or Rickey, but McHale went out and got an NYC streetbrawl legend. Anytime when a team is built around an athletic 4 and Rickey, Rickey be happy.
Sean,
I understand what you're saying, but you have to realize that while Jefferson turning out to be the second coming of Karl Malone/Tim Duncan/Whatever may be a decent possibility, it's still only a possibility, not reality.
See, Ainge's stockpiling of young talent gave him two options: (a) Wait until the young talent develops into a core that can challenge for the conference title or (b) Wait until the young talent becomes attractive enough to serve as trade bait to build said core.
(a) hasn't happened yet, but (b) has. There's no guarantee that a Jefferson-led Celtics team would turn out to be as good as KG-PP-Jesus troika is right now. You HAVE to take the Yes, Right Now over Maybe Tomorrow.
Assuming KG doesn't get a re-up, they have a 2-year window to make noise, and they blow the whole thing up. Which isn't too worse off from where they are now. Watching an All-World Jefferson in another uniform would be a small price to pay if it means a reasonable shot at making the NBA Finals.
DLIC, I realize this has to be a tough day for any Wolves fan, but I'm surprised by your reaction. I mean, I get that KG IS NOT BOSTON, and that there are plenty of reasons to hate on that city. For instance, I personally resent it for the summer I spent living with my ex in the North End teaching tennis to bratty Cambridge kids (though, that at least gave me the chance to see Joe Forte dominate Summer League).
But come on! This is bigger than any of that. This means we're gonna see KG IN THE FINALS! How can that be a bad thing? How could you NOT want that? He's too important to the League to die a slow death in Minnesota. Instead of sitting out the 'Offs for the 4th straight year he'll be squaring off against Dwight Howard or Shaq in May, armed with the most firepower he's ever had. Think of the possibilities, man! Christ, who wouldn't watch a series featuring KG and Lebron?
Further, THE WORLD NEEDS AN ANSWER TO THE TIMELESS KG QUESTION. The one season he had decent support he made it to the WCF, or so the argument goes. Shuttlesworth and Extra P certainly bring more artillery than Sam & Spree. Finally we will get a definitive ruling on the KG question.
***Standard Brickowski Spur Aside ***
Also, as usual, you're wrong about the Spurs. For one thing, that wife-beater Duncan's sporting at the bottom of the screen is the tightest piece of clothing dude owns. More importantly though the Spurs are doing their usual Spur thing and opting for long-term cap flexibility, rather than going All-In to defend their crown. We just gave away two valuable (and cheap!) assets in Scola and Butler to an in-state divisional rival that was already competitive (and you better believe that Spurs fans, myself included, are wary of getting burned by a frontline of Yao, Scola and Motivated Bonzi with T-Mac and em gunning from deep).
*** End of Spur Aside***
Most importantly, isn’t this the kind of starry dreaming that FreeDarko is founded upon? A rag-tag group of Post-Jordan Era Stars banding together to bring basketball back to the League’s most storied franchise while slaying their personal demons in the process. REMEMBER THE FUCKING TITANS? This is the game getting big again. This is STARS ON STARS!
Spinachdip: Yeah, I know. As the day has progressed I've become happier with the trade. At the very least, this will be the most entertaining Celtics team in quite some time.
Brickowski: You're right, the Rockets are gonna be scary next year. Just look at the talent on that team: T-Mac, Yao, Bonzi, Battier, Scola, Francis, M. James, Head, etc.
Note: I do have to say that the Spurs giving away Butler and Scola reminds me a little bit of the Patriots giving away Bledsoe (in 2002) and Milloy (in 2003) to Buffalo.
Duncan is from the VI - he definitely sports a Speedo.
I don't really get the KG is not Boston thing...was he Minnesota?
I'm as big a Celtic fan as you'll still find in this Red Sox/Patriots only city, so I'm obviously excited about this. But I think everyone should be. Gives the NBA a huge shake-up (I agree with whoever wrote about the dubious timing), makes an East Coast team viable again, and if this isn't a story about REDEMPTION, I don't know what is. Celtics-Rockets final. Beats the fuck out of Spurs-Cavs.
i'm writing this quickly at alliance bakery. brick, thanks for the positive spin, but there is no way in hell that the celtics make the finals...i'm not even sure they are as good as the raptors. rayallen, pierce, and kg's win total last year = dallas' win total last year.
kg IS minnesota. he was comfortable as fuck there and just bought a new house. never really felt like moving. kind of like prince.
Brick:
Dude has a couple Speedos, and a teal swimcap. Don't lie to yourself. Swimming is Duncan's Rosebud.
i mean, they call them massholes for a reason... when did KG change his stance on the whole NO BOSTON thing?
DLIC, get out of yuppie park! head west on division and get a taste of some humboldt. can't beat the jibaritos down here
for some reason, i always felt like KG had more to give in minnesota. Sure the 22 & 12 was nice, but i always thought if he ever really exerted his will on a game he could totally chagne the way game was played.
now with others around him to shoulder some of the load he can begin to dominate the stat lines without having to do it all.
i think in time we will come to realize that KG IS Boston, we just didn't realize it, until it had already come to be.
clarification: i realize KG already puts up absurd numbers, but i'm looking for FD lines like 30 boards and a handful of points while riding Shuttlesworth and Truth's scoring .
I have mixed feelings about this trade...failure to reach anything less than the finals in the Eastern Conference would be a significant blow to KG's career legacy in my opinion...and Pierce/Allen/Garnett are all beyond the peak of their athletic prowess'.
I'm afraid that, in retrospect, people will say Garnett couldn't get to the finals with 2 all-star calibur players on his squad, which is sort of like saying he had his shot and blew it...when, in actuality, the window of opportunity for most players is very small, maybe 2 or 3 years...the Barkley situation gives hope to all veterans, but it is by no means fair to expect a 32-year old Garnett to surge past the 20-somethings of the league in a season or two...Allen is 32 as well, and Pierce is a very old and worn down 30.
However, the appealing part of this trade is the fact that Garnett is finally going to have a role that fits his style of play; a dominant player that doesn't have to be THE scorer down the stretch...the one thing that has always bothered me about Garnett's game is the fact that he doesn't have that switch to elevate his offensive game in the last 7 or 8 minutes of the game...that killer instinct that the great closers of the game just instinctively goes full throttle...most of the best closers in the NBA are guards...its obviously easier to do when you're not in the post where a double team is inevitable.
Pierce is a very good closer. Allen is a great shooter. Garnett is a great rebounder and interior defender. These are complimentary elements that are not often found on th esame team...Garnett never was a volume shooter; that was a bad thing with the Wolves because they needed him to shoot...I don't think it'll be as big an issue with this roster
I'm worried about the depth of the Celtics. The supporting cast currently looks like this: Rondo (can't shoot), T. Allen (coming off of knee surgery), Perkins (slow, and no offensive game to speak of), Scalabrine ('nuff said), Powe (10th man), Big Baby (2nd rounder), Pruitt (2nd rounder), and Brandon Wallace (undrafted).
They'll probably try to sign some veteran free agents (Brevin Knight and P.J. Brown might be good fits), but I don't know if that would be enough help. It's too bad they're going to lose Ryan Gomes, who would have been a decent sixth man.
I just want to say that Bobby Generic is my favorite commenter name, like, ever.
Also, I understand the justification behind some of Ainge's moves, but I'm still not getting the Bassy-for-Rights to Brandon Roy trade. Has anyone explained that yet?
Spinach Dip's explanation of why Boston has to make this trade was perfect.
Sean, I agree with ya about the lack of depth. In fact, I think as appealing as having three All-Stars together is, I don't think the Celtics will live up to the hype. All it takes is one serious injury or breakdown, and your window of opportunity is closed. And that's a real problem. The lack of an experienced point guard (still the most important position in the NBA) is a problem, too (though Rondo's weakness - his lack of a jumper - may or may not hinder him with this team's firepower).
On the other hand, if you don't make this deal, you don't have a window at all. And not for a long time, either - don't give all that Jefferson could be a franchise player stuff; without KG, you don't come close to a window in Pierce's life, which by the way is the next four years since you can't dump a $21 million a year aging swingman. Which is why you have to go for it now!
It's a great move; unfortunately even with this great move, there is still a higher % of it failing than succeeding. That's the reality of the NBA. It's far more competitively unbalanced than MLB or NFL; no such thing as "see you next season" in the NBA. It goes without saying, but since '99:
Western Conference Champs: Lakers 4 times, Spurs 4 times, Dallas 1.
Eastern Conference Champs: NYK 1, Indiana 1 (both were 90's leftovers); Philly 1, NJ 2, Detroit 2, Miami 1 and Cleveland 1.
Regardless, if this trade goes down, the Atlantic goes from last to first in the NBA: Add KG, Ray Allen, and Zach Randolph, plus an improved Raptors and Nets teams... watch out, ya'll.
If Garnett were to get around 14pts/14reb/6ast/2stl/2blks a game, would it provide enough FD worthy highlights?
Agree with SML: spinach dip got it exactly right.
It's also worth noting that this trade fixes the direction problem that Billups talked about in his last Upgrade U piece. Everyone in that organization--especially I SET FUCKING PICKS--now knows exactly what he's supposed to do, and that means something.
the issue here will be injuries. And may I be the first to say that Kobe's gonna be pissed! expect a public tantrum any minute now. surely he was placated by the idea that KG was going to opt out for the lakers at years end...
Oops, I forgot Gomes was in the trade. Oh well, same point about organizational philosophy holds.
It's sad the NBA. Teams like Phoenix and Dallas are in win now mode. Now Boston. And watch it ends up being the Spurs once again.
i dont know about bean town but i love brighton -- melvin williams
the t'wolves got some big boys up front with big craig smiff and al jefferson and some gunners like randy foye and rashad mccants. corey brewer is like renaldo balkman deluxe edition (think vegas summer league) with an offensive arsenal.
regardless, boston has got enough. a team of rondo locking guys up and not even having to worry about taking a J running point with KG protecting the paint and the truth & jesus shuttlesworth filling it in from the outside. plus glen big baby davis is involved! and brian scalabrine!
eastern conference playoffs are going to be wild next year. boston and NY gonna be battling with chicago and miami and now cleveland. these are classic 80s/90s nba franchises.
if only nba on nbc returned.
i yearn for bob costas.
new york is the mecca.
T., I think that Simba actually got it right in terms of the Barkley metaphor -- this isn't Barkley to the Suns, this is Barkley to the Rockets.
That said, it's enough, in theory, to get to the Finals and if all three guys are operating at a high level, they could take 4 games from anybody in the league, since even the Spurs are not a true juggernaut, they have their creaks and cracks and you might not even play them anyway.
And, I was thinking during the summer league that Powe was proving himself to be more of a potential contributor than Gomes and I think he'll be part of the rotation with the Celtics. Or I hope so, the only way I can stomach Celtic green is with a little bit of Oaktown (see: Russell, Bill).
Add one more to the Leon Powe Fan Club. He deserves any amount of success and can definitely be a professional rebounder.
is there any chance that boston will send him to phoenix for shawn marion? please?
To add to my earlier comment, while I think the proposed trade is good for Boston, with or without Jefferson, it's only "good" in the sense that FEMA trailers were "good" for Katrina victims - better than any alternative, but hardly ideal.
As others have pointed out, Boston is still a team without direction or off-court leadership, and they're just slapping players together at this point.
The best they can hope is to contend for the conference title to throw some opiate to the masses for a couple of years before blowing it all up (assuming Jesus's body doesn't break down this year, just like every shooting guard in the history of the NBA at his age).
After that, maybe, just maybe they can adopt a master plan that doesn't depend on lottery picks or blockbuster trades, ala Spurs and Suns.
t/ty keenan/e. zarko: yeah, me too. I think any basketball fan with east bay roots is morally obligated to root for the success of Leon Powe. I'm hoping for him to have a Millsap Lite type of year, and given that he's now the Celts' 2nd best rebounder I don't see any reason why he can't.
EZ, I totally feel on you on the Russell-Celtics thing. My mom grew up there as a die-hard Celts fan during Russell's heyday (actually, she has a bunch of 1st-hand horror stories about dude's mistreatment by the fans of yore) and the only way I can talk to her about present-day basketball is through the common thread of Bill Russell.
"[Sheed] would need a special ref. Like getting a kosher meal on an airplane."
Daps x infinity
Has anyone asked Kobe how he feels about this situation?
http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/47401/20070731/source_kg_trade_to_factor_in_kobe_situation/
No direct quotes or anything, but obviously he can't be too pleased about it.
Something tells me Kobe is just going to see this as "Well, the Celtics were able to get Ray Allen AND KG! Why couldn't we?!" and get more upset without realizing Boston had what could be considered assets while the Lakers, well, don't.
Couldn't the Twolves have got Marion from the Suns? And isn't that better than anything they got?
The Wolves are obviously (and finally) trying to rebuild. I think that makes Theo's expiring deal and all the young talent/picks more ideal than 29 year old Shawn Marion who can opt out after this year.
I mean, unless you're going to try the ridiculous and attempt to win a title (or even get out of the West) with a roster built around Marion and Ricky Davis...
Rondo is perfect for a roster. With all that firepower I don't want a shoot-second point guard, I want a shoot-can't point guard.
Rondo will be like bizarro Steve Francis. Hustles, rebounds, and pressures like crazy, but sublimely conscious of his own limitations, and therefore able to succeed within them.
Something tells me Kobe is just going to see this as "Well, the Celtics were able to get Ray Allen AND KG! Why couldn't we?!" and get more upset without realizing Boston had what could be considered assets while the Lakers, well, don't.
The Celtics didn't have more assets than the Lakers (Bynum, Farmer, Walton, Odom, #1 picks); the Celtics just have better marketing. Can't f*ck with the Boston media, they'll convince you Al Jefferson is the new KG while selling you ice in the Arctic.
And the more I think about this trade, the more I kinda feel sorry for Boston, too. This is going to get their hopes up, but they have absolutely no bench! So KG, Pierce and Allen are all going to play over 40 minutes per game (otherwise the Celts ain't winning), and for three guys over 31... that's not good.
By February these guys are going to wearing down badly, not the best way to try to plan a run into June. They remind me of the Detroit Pistons last year... great start, slow finish, sudden collapse out of nowhere in the 2nd round.
Finally, something fun to watch in the east! Boston definitely has to get to work on their supporting cast but strangely enough, Ainge has managed to do something incredibly right for Boston. How can Boston fans complain about what they gave up?! All the Celts gave up was LOSING! Oh, and being *yawn* boring. Al Jefferson is only a modicum better than Erick Dampier. Yes, I said it. Crucify me for the truth if you must. Even Damp could get 16 and 11 in the east. Particularly on one of the worst teams in the league. As for the Wolves....ummm condolences for the next 5 years.
Interesting point about the timing though. So, IF the m.o. is dropping a big trade right after scandalous proceedings, then what do the teams get for doing a trade that may or may not have been done otherwise? What kind of carrot is in Stern's hand?
Alright, I'm finally coming around on this trade. The window of opportunity will be small, but it'll be worth it.
I wouldn't worry too much about the Celts' depth - they have their mid-level and the $1 million exceptions, which should be enough to get a quality backup point and a big man.
I mean, you don't think you couldn't convince, say, Webber or Dale Davis to play 15 mins a night for the minimum? Earl Boykins or Brevin Knight to spell/play alongside Rondo for the MLE?
Yeah, I love everyone saying the Celtics have no depth. In July. Guarantee they get something like Brevin Knight and PJ Brown. Suddenly you could have an all-vet lineup plus some decent young guys (Rondo, Tony Allen, Powe, even Kendrick "Don't Call Me Kedrick Big Rough" Perkins is serviceable). I like Gabe Pruitt and Big Baby too. The vets will come running and suddenly no one will say nothing about depth. This is a crazy experiment, but I don't see any team in the East that's going to take the Celtics. Plus the press conference tonight gave me shivers.
Post a Comment
<< Home