Analysis- Kevin Garnett Traded to Celtics

Kevin Garnett is one of the biggest superstars in the NBA. Exactly the kind of player that is difficult for small market teams to build championship teams around. For the last few years, there have been strong rumors that Kevin Garnett would be traded away from the Minnesota Timberwolves. On July 31, 2007 the rumors became reality as Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics.

Garnett, obviously, didn't come cheap. Boston sent Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Ryan Gomes and two future draft picks to Minnesota. It marks the most players traded for one player in NBA history.

The Celtics gain a superstar that will fill the seats in Boston. They add Garnett to Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to form one of the league's best trios. It will be interesting to see how Boston fills out the rest of their roster; but in the depleted Eastern conference, the three superstars could be enough to send Boston to the NBA finals.

The Timberwolves could never seem to build a championship team around Kevin Garnett. In 2004, they reached the Western Conference Finals with a nucleus of Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell, and Latrell Sprewell. The Timberwolves, however, let Cassell and Sprewell go at the end of that season. They haven't made the playoffs since.

The Timberwolves are now a very young team that is far away from contending. They do have many exciting young players that could give Minnesota fans something to cheer about very soon. Boston, meanwhile, becomes legitimate contenders in the Eastern conference. It wouldn't be too shocking to see the Celtics in net year's NBA Finals.

Kevin Garnett's trade to Boston has shifted the balance of power in the Eastern Conference. Last year, Boston had the conference's worst record. Their bad luck even carried into the offseason, where they had incredibly bad luck in the draft lottery (snagging the fifth overall pick, when they should have had a top two pick). Luckily for Celtic fans, the remainder of the offseason was a resounding success with the additions of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.

Final Verdict: Boston is clearly a winner in this deal. It is incredibly rare that you can land a player of Garnett's magnitude through a trade (the last megastar to be traded was Shaquille O'neal in 2004). The trio of Allen, Pierce, and Garnett should do very well in the Eastern Conference and get Boston buzzing about the Celtics again.