Kevin Garnett says trade to Nets ‘was perfect for me,' and it’s been perfect for Celtics, too

http://celticswire.usatoday.com/2017/11/16/kevin-garnett-says-2013-trade-to-nets-was-perfect-for-him-its-been-perfect-for-the-celtics-too/




Kevin Garnett says trade to Nets ‘was perfect for me,' and it’s been perfect for Celtics, too


















With the Golden State Warriors visiting the Boston Celtics on Thursday night, we got a glimpse of the top two teams in the NBA squaring off.


The fact that Boston is atop the Eastern Conference with so many new players and an early injury to Gordon Hayward has surprised quite a few, including former Celtic star Kevin Garnett. The big man briefly joined Marv Albert during the game’s telecast on TNT to provide his thoughts on the Celtics and their success thus far.


“I did not see this coming, if I’m being honest,” Garnett said during the game’s second quarter. “I thought that [the Celtics] would rally around [Gordon] Hayward’s injury and be better, but not like this.”


Garnett, who spent seven years as a member of the Celtics, was a catalyst to the franchise winning its 17th NBA championship back in 2008. He recently retired following the 2015-16 NBA season.
After retiring, Garnett joined the cast of TNT’s Inside the NBA where he currently serves as the host of his own weekly segment, Area 21.





“They’re in a cohesive flow defensively that that I haven’t seen in Boston in quite some time,” Garnett said. “They’re definitely the team to beat in the East.”


What made Garnett’s commentary on the Celtics most interesting is his unique perspective. As a former member of the Celtics, Garnett and former teammate Paul Pierce were the major components of a 2013 trade that dramatically altered the trajectory of two franchises—the Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets.


General manager Danny Ainge, with Garnett’s blessing, sent K.G. and Pierce to Brooklyn in exchange for a bevy of assets, most notably the Nets’ unprotected first-round picks in the 2016 and 2018 NBA Drafts as well as the right to swap first-round picks with the Nets in the 2017 NBA Draft.


The 2018 pick received from the Nets was included in the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Boston, while the Nets’ own 2016 pick was used to draft Jaylen Brown.


In May 2017, the Nets won the draft lottery and the first overall pick. However, the Celtics exercised their right to swap. The Nets ended up with the 27th pick while the Celtics would eventually trade the first overall pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the third overall pick in the 2017 draft as well as an additional future first-round pick that will vest in either 2018 or 2019.


The third overall pick in 2017, though, was used to draft Jayson Tatum.


In other words, Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum being members of the Celtics were the result of three separate transactions that all have roots in the 2013 trade that sent Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn.


In the end, the Celtics certainly made out, but during Thursday night’s telecast, Garnett – who possessed a no-trade clause – revealed that he didn’t need too much convincing to accept the trade to Brooklyn.


“I think the time that we were all in Boston had served its time,” Garnett said after recalling that his approval was needed for the trade. “We were all moving. I think Ray [Allen] went to Miami the previous year. Paul [Pierce] and I and [Rajon] Rondo—we all knew that at some point, we were all gonna go to different places.


“I had family in New York at the time, and it just seemed like it was perfect for me,” he added. “It was a good opportunity for me. Brooklyn was a year-and-a-half of a good experience. New York is never a dull moment, it was good for me, it was good for my family and it worked out.”


In the end, it’s good to know that Garnett believes that one of the biggest trades in NBA history worked out for him, because in the early goings of the 2017-18 season—five years later—even without Gordon Hayward, it’s pretty obvious that the trade worked out for the Celtics, as well.








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