During the 2013 NBA Draft the rumored trade involving the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets came to fruition as Kevin Garnett agreed to waive his no-trade clause and the deal itself will not become official until July 10th.
The move became necessary as Boston is looking to rebuild. General manager Danny Ainge already made the first move by trading Doc Rivers to the Los Angeles Clippers for a first-round pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Now the franchise will receive Keith Bogans (sign and trade), Kris Joseph, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Gerald Wallace and first-round picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018. Heading to the Nets will be Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry.
For the Celtics there’ still a strong trio with Rajon Rondo coming back healthy, Jeff Green and Wallace. Brooks also had a strong rookie season in 2011-2013 for the Nets, though his role with the team got diminished in his second year as Joe Johnson came over from the Atlanta Hawks.
In accepting the deal Brooklyn is looking to win now and their lineup is pretty much set with Deron Williams, Johnson, Pierce, Garnett and Brook Lopez with Terry providing instant offense coming off the bench. It allows for the transition of Jason Kidd into coaching a lot smoother with the help of veteran players and will likely provide competition to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference.
Many Celtics fans would have preferred to have kept Pierce and have him retire with the team that drafted him in 1998 including Bill Simmons. Yet, it’s obvious the three veterans weren’t in the rebuilding plans and Ainge at least made sure the veterans went to a team that will most likely get the opportunity to win a championship.