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[BIG FLO]

As a big Celtics fan, this makes me so happy. Instant title contenders with Pierce, Ray Allen, and KG. What do you all think about this deal and of the Celtics' chances?

[stonedface]

its a good move they should be one of the favorites to win the east now

[Kimuras"R"Us]

I can't believe the Suns wouldnt' give up Amare for him.

[TheBonger]

wow huge deal, espn says its not official and lord knows if it can fall through for any team it will fall through for the Celts.

[leelandk]

Originally Posted by Kimuras"R"Us

I can't believe the Suns wouldnt' give up Amare for him.

Amare's still getting better, KG isn't.

[matto]

its not official yeat, do u know how many of these big name deals have been in talk but never went through. kg, marion, stadomire, kobe and plenty of others have been rumored to be traded but never have been. but i do agree with pierce, allen, and kg they would be a hugh force but would still lose to the pistons. just like the red sox's are going to get knocked off by the tigers in the playoffs.

[MichaelK]

While it certainly does help, it also creates some small issues. Who will be the primary option on the floor if all three are out there? Allen can shoot the shit out of the ball, Pierce can score quite well, and Garnett (sans Dirk) has the best long range jumper in the game for someone over 7 feet tall.

I like it in the long run, but Celtic fans better hope these three guys can all play together. We'll just have to wait and see what sort of chemistry this team will have with all these new faces aboard.

[JoeKickAss]

Official

BOSTON -- The Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics, who nearly completed a blockbuster Kevin Garnett trade before the June draft, completed the megadeal Tuesday after two days of renewed talks.

The Celtics acquired Garnett, a 10-time All-Star and the NBA MVP in 2004, from Minnesota in exchange for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, a 2009 first-round draft pick and a return of Minnesota's conditional first-round pick previously obtained in the Ricky Davis-Wally Szczerbiak trade.

The Timberwolves also receive cash considerations in the deal. The 2009 pick Boston is sending to Minnesota is top-three protected.

"I am excited to become a Celtic," Garnett said. "It's wonderful to have the opportunity to play with players the quality of Paul and Ray. The Celtics have had a proud tradition and now I hope that we can add to the legacy."

The Boston Herald reported on its Web site Tuesday that Garnett has agreed to a three-year extension with the Celtics, in addition to the two years left on contract, which would keep him in Boston through the 2011-12 season.

"Kevin Garnett is a great player in our league, with a fierce and competitive spirit, who brings offensive scoring prowess and a defensive presence to our team," Danny Ainge, Boston's executive director of basketball operations, said in a statement. "The players we're trading to Minnesota have bright futures in the NBA and we wish them well."

With Paul Pierce and Ray Allen already on the roster, the Celtics are now far more than a promising collection of youngsters who had the NBA's second-worst record last season.

"We are delighted to have a core of three All-Star talents to anchor our team," Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck said.

Besides the 34-year-old Ratliff, the four players going to the Timberwolves are 22 or younger.

The Celtics were reluctant to part with Jefferson, but he was key to the deal for Minnesota. He had a breakout season in 2006-07, his third with Boston, when he averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds after struggling with injuries the previous season.

"The past few seasons our on-court performance has been disappointing to our fans, myself, [owner] Glen Taylor and the entire organization," McHale said. "Through this trade, we have obtained very talented, young players with a lot of potential, future flexibility with the salary cap and two future first-round NBA draft picks.

"Personally, I want to thank Kevin for all of his hard work through the years and what he has meant to the Timberwolves franchise."

The teams had discussed a trade for the 6-foot-11 Garnett, the NBA's leading rebounder last season, before the draft on April 26. But he didn't want to go to Boston and the Celtics didn't want to give up Jefferson.

But the acquisition of Allen, 32, in a draft-day trade with Seattle to go with Pierce, 29, may have helped change Garnett's mind because it makes the Celtics more competitive in the next few years. It also gave Garnett, 31, a better chance at a title after Minnesota missed the last three playoffs in the daunting Western Conference.

Led by Garnett's MVP season, the Timberwolves came within two wins of the NBA Finals in 2004. The forward averaged 24.2 points and a league-high 13.9 rebounds that season, joining Larry Bird as the only players to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for five consecutive years.

But Minnesota has fired two coaches and not made the playoffs since. Garnett never said he was unhappy and never asked to be traded but expressed frustration with some of vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale's personnel decisions and challenged him to upgrade the roster.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2956103

[Kimuras"R"Us]

Originally Posted by leelandk69

Amare's still getting better, KG isn't.

Sorry this took me so long to get back to you.

I totally agree with what you said, but you have to look at the overall situation to think of this trade...

Amare is a beast, no lie, but I DO NOT think he will ever be able to lead a team to a championship by himself without a lot of talent around him.

KG is in his prime for a couple years.

The Spurs will beat the Suns in the playoffs 9 / 10 times because no one can check TIMMAH.

KG is the only guy that can come close.


What you need to think about is do you just play for your future and hope Amare can lead a Nash-less team to the title.

OR

Do you mortgage the future and realize that the only way to beat the Spurs now is to trade Amare for KG?

I say the latter, you never know what will happen 3 4 years down the road, but you know right now KG is tough enough to man up Duncan for seven games, and Amare isn't.


Just what i think, feel free to argue back.

[leelandk]

Originally Posted by Kimuras"R"Us

Sorry this took me so long to get back to you.

I totally agree with what you said, but you have to look at the overall situation to think of this trade...

Amare is a beast, no lie, but I DO NOT think he will ever be able to lead a team to a championship by himself without a lot of talent around him.

KG is in his prime for a couple years.

The Spurs will beat the Suns in the playoffs 9 / 10 times because no one can check TIMMAH.

KG is the only guy that can come close.


What you need to think about is do you just play for your future and hope Amare can lead a Nash-less team to the title.

OR

Do you mortgage the future and realize that the only way to beat the Spurs now is to trade Amare for KG?

I say the latter, you never know what will happen 3 4 years down the road, but you know right now KG is tough enough to man up Duncan for seven games, and Amare isn't.


Just what i think, feel free to argue back.

KG isn't going to get past the Spurs. Look at his track record in the playoffs and its not very impressive. He had some decent teams as well, and they always underachieved. KG has already proved he isn't going to lead a team to a championship or even a decent playoff run.

Amare hasn't had the chance yet to prove whether or not he can lead a team to the title without Nash. He's only played 4 seasons, and each season has dramatically improved save for the season following the microfracture surgery.

People forget the monster Amare was turning into before the microfracture knee surgery. He had a less than stellar year last year, but remember he missed the entire previous season so a slump is expected (he was still a 20/10 player though.) He's a young player still learning the game. He's only 24 and hasn't peaked yet, unlike KG.

As far as matching up with Tim, KG matches up very well, but so can Amare. Amare didn't play exceptionally well against the Spurs this year, but I attribute that to coming back after missing the prevous year. Microfracture surgery can ruin careers. Look at Webber, Penny, Kenyon Martin.

The year before the surgery, 2005, Amare dominated Duncan in the playoffs averaging 38 pts a game. Problem was, Marion was playing hurt and the rest of the Suns were zombies during the series.

Its just a matter of opinion I guess. Nothing KG has shown me makes me think he can beat the Spurs. So why trade the player who may be able to get past them in the next few years as his game continues to develop.

I also don't think you can just plug Garnett into the Suns offense and expect it to work. He's a half-court player and will take a season to adapt to the D'Antoni offense, if he can.