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Five players, two picks sent to Wolves for Garnett
The Celtics traded five players and two picks for the Big Ticket.
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.
Source: AP