basically Minnesota is getting destroyed in this deal. Like majorly. Al Jefferson could turn out to be an All-Star one day, but…man.
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2 comments:
Very much in favor of the trade
The Celtics have been treading water, making a half-arsed effort at both rebuilding and competing for the last several years. They needed to pick a direction. This move gives them three top talents that are as good as the top three players on any team in the NBA.
A few years ago KG was the best player in the NBA. He's still in the top 5. Pierce and Ray Allen are easily in the top 30. All three complement each other very well on the court, are consumate professionals/teammates, and will be incredibly hungry to win. Don't underestimate that last point.
In the NBA-- and especially in the playoffs-- top talent wins. The strength of your best few players matters far more than the back end of your eight man rotation. If/when the Celtics meet the Pistons in the playoffs next spring they will have the best three players on the court. If/when they meet the Bulls they will have at least the two best, although you can debate whether Luol Deng or Ray Allen is better. If/when they meet the Cavs they will have three best after LeBron.
Who were/will be the top talents to change NBA teams this summer? KG, Rashard Lewis, Ray Allen. After 18 months of watching Ainge chase and fail to land every big talent on the market (Iverson, Boozer, Marion, etc) who would have thought we would end up with two of these?
The Cavs just made the NBA Finals with a superstar and a bunch of drek that played semi-hard defense and not much else. A KG-Pierce-Allen team has at least a good chance of playing for a championship next spring as anyone else in the EAst. Every year in the NBA ~25 teams start the season without a hope of sniffing the Finals. For the first time in a long time the Celtics won't be one of the those teams.
It's worth saying as background: I have had a huge, irrational man-crush on Kevin Garnett for years.
It's not just that he's that rare combination of world-class athlete and basketball talent who also goes 100% every night and is massively competitive. He has been an elite NBA defender, both inside and away from the basket. He's led the league in rebounding for years. He's the only player in the league that allows you to consider a match-up with San Antonio/Duncan or Dallas/Dirk and declare you have the advantage at the PF position.
Simmons had a column on this six months ago. He's been stuck on an incredibly incompetently run team for years with a bunch of bums like Olowakandi, Blount, Marko Jaric and so on. The one time he had a decent supporting cast-- Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell, neither of whom were as good as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen-- he was a Cassell injury and an improbable Deron Williams jumper from beating the Lakers and likely winning the Finals.
You can make a case that the only players that really mattered last year on Seattle, Minnesota and Boston were Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson. Those were the only present or future repeat All Stars. The fact that the Celtics got to put three of those four on one roster without giving up more than a bunch of role players and picks is a minor triumph.
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