the great Garnett gangbuster

Well, THIS is a change....

After all the Garnett deals that were discussed earlier, this is the one that goes through? I won't make any McHale-is-still-secretly-part-of-the-Celtics jokes. That's too easy. I'm just going to address the good and bad sides of this deal:



THE GOOD FOR BOSTON, BAD FOR MINNESOTA



- Boston has three guys who have been all stars and now would like nothing more than to win.

- I'm not worried about people needing shots. Garnett had his best year when he could share the ball with Sprewell and Cassell. He doesn't have to be lead scorer. This is Pierce's team offensively, and I know Allen and KG will be fine not having to carry them. They need a break from that.

- I'm also not worried about KG wearing down so soon. He's still got time. Plus, he won't have to carry the offense anymore, again, and he gets to play in the East. That will make his stress level go WAY down.

- Compared to everyone in the East, they look pretty good now, eh? They have one of the best big men in the game when all the others are out West. The only teams that have bigs who can match up with KG are Detroit, Toronto, and Orlando, and those last two don't have the supporting casts.

- Yes, I know Jefferson might eventually be a franchise big man, but you already know KG is. And he's much better defensively.

- Celtics fans (and NBA fans in general) have to be happy that the Celtics went all out to get better, instead of being cheap and waiting for young guys to develop.

- They managed to get KG without giving up that big draft pick. How crazy is that?

- They weren't sold on any of the young guys they gave up besides Jefferson.

- One of the draft picks the Celtics gave up actually belonged to Minnesota in the first place, so it's not really a loss for them.

- McHale managed to get young guys, but he didn't give up any of the bad contracts they have. Other trade scenarios I mapped out for them had them cutting payroll somehow. Now they still need to wait a few years to get these guys off their payroll. I know the cap hindered them, but my guess is that Boston would have taken a few of these guys for some depth. They could have looked for other teams to get involved.

- Jefferson has to replace the only great player in franchise history, and this team is going to be bad right away.

-Boston managed to get rid of Telfair and Ratliff for something positive.

- Why did the Wolves pick up Juwon Howard if they were serious about moving KG? Doesn't seem like a great move now. He's another old guy they have to pay for a few years.

- Along with that, would they have drafted Corey Brewer if they knew KG would be gone? Maybe they would have sprung for someone lower rated but with more potential. I don't know who... Brandan Wright? Meh, I guess Brewer was still the best available. I just think he's worth more on a contender.

- If I found out that they could have had Stoudemire straight up, I would seriously punch them in the face. But I think Phoenix would nix theat deal first.


- I was going to put the Wolves having a high draft pick next year in their good list, but is it going to the Clippers? This could be very good or bad for them, because they will absolutely be picking in the top five next year.



THE GOOD FOR MINNESOTA, BAD FOR BOSTON

- Boston now has no depth. I don't know what the rules are for using mid level trade exceptions, but I think with the cap space gone, they'll have a hard time picking up people. They really could use a veteran backup at the point and at center.

- Boston's three wing players they rely on (Tony Al, Ray Al, Pierce) all missed a huge chunk of last season with injuries.

- Rajon Rondo has to be the man now. This isn't all terrible, since Boston needed to straighten up the point situation, but without Delonte West or Telfair, he's got to be it.

- Kendrick Perkins is the only center Boston has, and besides him, the only big men they can sub are Leon Powe, Big Baby Davis, and Brian Scalabrine. Yikes.


- To go along with that, my main complaint about this trade on both sides is including Ryan Gomes. He's a nice backup for Boston, but without him, they have no depth down low. Perkins can get into foul trouble easily and then there's no one with any experience left. Meanwhile, he doesn't help Minnesota much because they have Howard and Craig Smith already, and they're all decent guys who basically do the same thing. He's not going to ever be a star for them; Jefferson and Green have a chance to do something. Boston isn't giving him up for salary reasons either.


So why put him in there? Minnesota can take Big Baby, who at least might develop into something if he trains right, or Powe, or more draft picks. Boston can keep a guy who gives them important minutes. This is the part I don't get.

- Minnesota needed a true point, and if Telfair lives up to anything, he can help.

- Same deal with Green. He and Brewer have the tools, but can they figure it out? If so, they have a nice wing combo.

FINAL ANALYSIS (cue Richard Gere looking solemn) :

Boston wins big time. This trade puts them amongst the best teams in the East. You can complain about their depth, but only a few teams in that conference have anyone close to KG, and they don't have the supporting cast. This threesome is worth 50 wins, right? It's not much worse than KG, Spree, and Cassell in 2004. Those guys won 58 in a loaded conference. They can challenge for the conference title. League, not so much.

Minnesota managed to get one future star and some nice pieces for Garnett, but they're going to be bad for a while. At least the foundation is there, plus the next few high picks they will surely get. If McHale steps aside, after loading up his old team, well, it wouldn't be so bad.

I have a strange feeling that somewhere down the line, once the cap is set, Boston will make a "thank you" move to Minnesota. I don't know if they can do this with the cap, and they definitely can't do it right now, but I think they might actually take some of those guys with contract problems that Minnesota has. They need depth. They'd bring back Mark Blount as a backup if they could fit him under the cap. They'd probably take Marko Jaric or Trenton Hassell too. Once the season starts, I think they will find a way to do this to get depth and help McHale clear some cap space. Remember, he's made a bunch of deals with Boston in the past few years. No coincidence. He and Ainge will keep talking and finding ways to help each other out. I think Ainge kinda owes it to him for this deal.....

FOR THE REST OF THE LEAGUE.....

- Conspiracy theorists are harping that Stern got this deal done because it helps an eastern team with a passionate fan base get better. Also, it detracts attention from the scandal. Nah. I think that it happened for these reasons: Phoenix was too cheap and/or didn't want to give up Stoudemire; the Lakers didn't have a good enough package; and Chicago is content to stay with the team they have (hence them not even biting anymore on Pau Gasol, who'd cost less). Boston was the only team left able to give Minnesota something valuable for their star.

Regardless, it does make the Celtics a lot better and the East better as well. Now, the Celtics will be on TV much more. Yes, Stern has to be happy about it. Yes, it's shady McHale gave up so easily.

But he's never been sharp, has he?

- This puts even more pressure on the Lakers to make a deal. Without KG in the mix, they now have even more desperation to go after Jermaine O'Neal, plus they have to hear about their old rivals for a while.

Here's an interesting problem the Lakers face: I've been saying that they need to find a third team that would be interested in Lamar Odom, because the Pacers sure aren't. One of those teams was Boston, potentially. Now they're out, obviously, and I think New York is going to stay where they are or get Artest. So that leaves Miami, Jersey, and Philly, but the Sixers and Heat don't have enough assets (other than their main guys they'll never give up) to get it done. So the main trade partner is Jersey.

Ironically, however, Jersey and Indiana have already been discussing a deal amongst themselves for O'Neal. Indiana wanted Nenad Kristic, Richard Jefferson, and maybe Marcus Williams from the Nets. Jersey said no. So now the Lakers not only have to convince Indiana that they can offer a good package, but maybe convince Jersey too that a three-way is the best way to go. I already traced out a bunch of three-way trades with these guys earlier on here. If Indiana can get Kristic and Jefferson from Jersey straight up for O'Neal, doesn't that trump anything the Lakers can do? Can the Lakers possibly convince the Nets to take Odom instead, trade Jefferson to Indiana, and get Indiana to accept Bynum, Kwame (for the contract), and Crittendon? Let's see this again:


Indiana Pacers
Incoming Players
Andrew Bynum
Salary: $2,172,000 Years Remaining: 1
Jason Collins
Salary: $6,100,000 Years Remaining: 2
Richard Jefferson
Salary: $12,200,000 Years Remaining: 4
Kwame Brown
Salary: $9,075,000 Years Remaining: 1
Bernard Robinson
Salary: $1,080,000 Years Remaining: 1
(Javaris Crittendon)
(once he clears restrictions)
Outgoing Players: Jermaine O'Neal, Mike Dunleavy

New Jersey Nets
Incoming Players
Brian Cook
Salary: $3,500,000 Years Remaining: 2
Mike Dunleavy
Salary: $8,219,008 Years Remaining: 4
Lamar Odom
Salary: $13,248,596 Years Remaining: 2
Maurice Evans
Salary: $1,740,000 Years Remaining: 1
Outgoing Players: Jason Collins, Antoine Wright, Richard Jefferson, Bostjan Nachbar, Bernard Robinson

Los Angeles Lakers
Incoming Players
Jermaine O'Neal
Salary: $19,728,000 Years Remaining: 2
Antoine Wright
Salary: $1,680,600 Years Remaining: 1
Bostjan Nachbar
Salary: $2,500,000 Years Remaining: 1
Outgoing Players: Andrew Bynum, Brian Cook, Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom, Maurice Evans (also Javaris Crittendon, once available)

Hey, this trade doesn't look so bad now. All three teams do something positive. Indiana gets Bynum, Jefferson, and Crittendon, while getting major cap relief. I think they've been really ruing the midseason trade with Golden State. In earlier trade scenarios, I had them trying to get rid of Dunleavy, but failing. Now, with Jersey picking up big men, they can do more to swing that. Jersey gets rid of Jefferson, but they keep Kristic, get Odom, and then majorly improve their bench. Even if Odom-Kidd-Carter is less of a trioka than Jefferson-Kidd-Carter, they still have Kristic and finally have some depth for once. That's not bad.

And the Lakers get Kobe a real post guy. DO it, Kupchak.

The question will be if Indiana thinks they can still get Kristic and Jefferson from Jersey straight up. That's better than the Lakers' offer.

- Yes, it changes the balance of power in the East for now. Detroit is getting younger, but that may not make them any better right now. They're mostly the same as last year. Cleveland hasn't changed much (for now). Chicago was my pick to break through next year, but like Detroit, they're going with quantity over quality. Miami is the only other team that could be considered a true contender, but they need Shaq to get back, and he hasn't looked motivated in a long, long time. Jersey? Maybe. Pending on moves.

Charlotte, Atlanta, Orlando, and New York all got better, but they aren't contenders.

This team, assuming a few guys come in cheap, can win 50 games, which puts it near the top.

- Finally, some of the forwards out West can breathe a little easier. And look at all star selections. With Garnett, Lewis and almost-been-theres Zach Randolph and (likely) Odom gone, you can finally get in the midseason showcase.

- One last thing: I know we'll probably never get the real story on this, but we'll always wonder how close Phoenix got, or how close they both got with Atlanta, or if the Lakers ever really had a chance. Did someone really turn this down? On either side? With respect to Stoudemire as well?

Maybe those fans don't want to know....