So much for visions of Kevin Garnett running with Steve Nash or Paul Pierce — Monday’s big story was the growing KG-to-L.A. trade rumor. And just to clarify, we’re not talking about the Clippers. The Los Angeles Times reported that talks between the Lakers and Wolves turned into a four-way discussion including the Celtics and Pacers, before the C’s pulled out of the coulda-been megadeal that would have landed them Jermaine O’Neal. After that it was back to just L.A. and Minnesota talking. Not sure which particulars are being offered, but you’d have to assume that, at the least, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum would be part of any arrangement … By now it looks like a longshot, but can you imagine Kobe and KG together? Who their supporting cast would consist of is one thing, but the star power there is off the charts … If KG does stay in Minnesota, however, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald says the Wolves will try and bring in Ron Artest to give Ticket some backup. If this trade happened, from a locker-room and team psychology standpoint, Minnesota would automatically become the most fascinating team ever … There was a time when the Bulls were seen as the most likely destination if Garnett ever got traded, but if the reports are true that Kevin McHale wants high draft picks and cap space (a.k.a. rebuilding tools), Chicago is probably out of the KG bidding. The Chicago Tribune says the Bulls are looking at trying to get Marcus Camby with their No. 9 pick. So you’ve got Ben Wallace and Tyrus Thomas and now you want Camby? You want LOW-POST SCORING, people. SCORING … We put a few Draft-related items on the site yesterday: the best rookie seasons of all-time (remember how dominant Shaq was in ‘93?), some of the most memorable Draft busts (Sorry, Kwame) and another mock draft … Thaddeus Young turned down an invite from the League to be in the green room on draft day (which isn’t actually a room, just a roped-off part of the MSG Theater), choosing to stay at home with his people in Tennessee. Either that’s genuine and admirable, or Thad just doesn’t wanna run risk of being the last guy sitting there waiting to get picked. “We rented out a conference room in a hotel back at home where we are going to have a lot of food,” Young said. You know, that does sound more relaxed than sitting under the national TV lights and having to sit around for hours after you’re drafted doing interviews, but then again, you only get one chance to put on the cap and shake David Stern’s hand … A couple of Jordan-related items from the Chicago Tribune: First, the Bobcats are believed to be gearing up to pursue Rashard Lewis in free agency. Second, there’s thought that the ‘Cats want to use the No. 8 pick as part of a deal to get Jason Richardson … Here are the Hawks’ new uniforms. As for the model, Josh Smith? We read he’s been in Houston this offseason working out: doing big-man drills with Hakeem Olajuwon and perimeter stuff with Calvin Murphy. Watch out, Eastern Conference … Kevin Durant to the Sonics’ website on college: “It helped me out a lot. A lot of people thought I was just a skinny three-point shooter going to college. I think I proved to people that I can do a lot more than shoot threes.” … If you’ve been trolling the mock drafts at all — or if you were heavy on the World Championship tourney last summer — no doubt you’ve heard of Marc Gasol; Pau Gasol’s 22-year-old younger brother, a 7-1, 270-pounder who’s expected to go somewhere between late-first and early-second round on Thursday. Here’s the scouting report on Marc, via the Memphis Commercial-Appeal: “NBA scouts are impressed that Gasol can score in the paint with hooks and short jump shots because of his soft hands. Quickness is a problem with Gasol. He lacks athleticism and agility,” adding, “There are concerns about his conditioning and weight.” So hey’re basically saying he’s the Spanish Zach Randolph? … John Lucas to the Boston Globe on BC big man and probable first-rounder Sean Williams: “Sean doesn’t have any real-life issues. There are other guys I’ve had here who have had real-life issues. He doesn’t. His issue is, he just wants to smoke some weed sometime — and you can’t.” Hey, however you wanna call it … With so much attention being paid to Tony and Eva, no one’s talking about Yao. Big dude is supposed to be getting married this August to Ye Li, a 6-foot-plus member of the Chinese national women’s hoop team. What happened to that rumor of Yao dating Nia Long? … We’re out like Yao and Nia …
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June 26th, 2007 at 7:58 am
grayworld says:
yao and nia long..lol..
June 26th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Bust Jlaze says:
hahaha…I never heard THAT rumor…where’d that one come from?
Is there any truth to this: I just heard that Kobe’s saying that even if the Lakers pull KG, he still wants out??
June 26th, 2007 at 8:16 am
grayworld says:
those hawks jerseys look like they stole the colors off of the cavs alternate blue ones
June 26th, 2007 at 8:32 am
Bust Jlaze says:
yeah, you’re right…looks pretty dope, but yeah, they jacked the Cavs’ jerseys…that’s a good setup for another fan mixup, Raptors style…if the Hawks ever make the playoffs, that is…
June 26th, 2007 at 9:37 am
smity says:
yao and nia are taking a break right now but they remain good friends…thats the funniest bit of smack i’ve read since you all started probably.
June 26th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
grayworld says:
If i were KG i would suck it up for one more year..opt out next year…take a pay cut… team up with tim duncan and the spurs after this season and win about 4 rings…after this year the spurs will have cap room because everyone except the big three are free agents after next year. Duncan can opt-out but he’s not going anywhere….also while everyone is scramblin around tryin to get better the spurs are sittin pretty waitin to double up…expect an repeat
June 26th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
grayworld says:
and yes i just predicted the spurs are about to win six in a row
June 26th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Celts Fan says:
I’m so glad the Celts pulled out of that trade. Would have been a terrible move. What we need to do is offer Indiana the #5 and Ratliff’s contract (and whatever filler we need from there to make the salaries match up - as in not Big Al, Pierce, Rondo, or Gerald) for Jermaine O’Neal. Indi realizes they won’t contend any time soon, so why not take the cap room, the top 5 pick, and whatever else we give them…
June 26th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Bron42 says:
big al had 12ppg and people want him over kg?even though hes injury proned and green doesn’t know how to play? strange. If they were as good as you people make, Pierce wouldnt be threatenin to leave
June 26th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Celts Fan says:
#1, Pierce isn’t threatening to leave you idiot. He just signed an extension last year and has said, multiple times, that he wants to retire in Boston.
#2, No one’s saying Big Al over KG if they were both 22 years old, but one’s really young and on the upswing, while the other would kill our cap and take so much for us to get him, that we’d literally be Pierce, KG, and a bunch of scrubs. As it is, they have a ton of young talent, are a team on the rise, and should be good for the next decade. KG isn’t going to get us a ring and isn’t going to be in his prime for that much longer. You’re an idiot if you think it’s just a basketball thing and not more to do with age, relative points in their careers, salaries, cap flexibility, and position the team’s in. Short term, ya, KG makes sense, but long term, it makes no sense and costs us too much young talent. And since we can’t win a ring in the short term, you have to think long term. Jesus, I didn’t think this was that hard to figure out…
June 26th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Bron42 says:
i kno this dumbass didnt just call me a idiot when pierce has been quoted to “get some veteran help in here or hes gonna demand a tradE” kobe wants to retire a laker too, doesnt mean his didn’t threatened to leave ass…
and on top of that, the celtics have pierce and a bunch of scrubs even now. so it wouldnt make a big difference. plain and simple KG is proven and would have a much better chance of gettin you a ring in the east that sloppy ass al jefferson. I mean otehr than paul gomes and west, who on the team isn’t a scrub and has proven something? wow 12 pgg..stud..hes 4 points ahead of darko..allstar…gerald green and his one highlight ever 6 games or scoring 15 points when their trying to bomb and get the #1 pick. Age or not, KG is a better option than both of them since last time i checked, pierce wants to win now, not in 5 years when big al MIGHT be a really good player, or he could just be malik rose. I’d take proven talent with a 5 year time lil than keep my fingers crossed that someone might evolve into something. specially when the only star you have isn’t a spring chicken anymore either and injury proned. And as someone who works in the nba, i kno exactly how age and salaries playinto things but if you check the records the celtics werent really blowin people out WITH your so called good talent. so how about you just keep bein a fan and actually learn something about basketball before you run your mouth. You either a)trade pierce and start completely over with the youth movement or b) get him some serious help now, and risk losing some 50/50 guys (50% chance of bein good 50% of bein trash) and try to win now…you think shaq goin to the heat was a long term idea? or a cap room idea? no, they wanted to win, and did what they had to…or else they would of kept a younger caron butler, a younger odom, some draft pics and still been losing the second round of the playoffs… its kinda funny thought that the celtics fans and danny ainge all have the same fucked up away of organizing, no wonder your team sucks. google: nba championships for dummies or something before you post.
June 26th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Celts Fan says:
The ENTIRE team was hurt last year or they would have made the playoffs. Here’s a rundown of the main parts of our team (minus Pierce who’s obvious)
Big Al - AVERAGED a double double for the year last year, while getting hardly any tick to start the year. Really came into his own. Will be an all-star for years to come. Too slow laterally to be a lock-down defender and man the paint on his own.
Wally - Skilled scorer. Tries hard on D (but still not very good). Probably better suited as a back-up. His bloated contract becomes a huge asset next year.
Rajon Rondo - Lightning quick, lock down defender. Great distributor. Can’t shoot at all, so needs to be out there w/ some scorers to be effective.
Kendrick Perkins - Can block shots and grab boards. Too slow laterally to be a lock-down defender and man the paint on his own. Back-up for a good team.
Delonte - Good shooter, good defender. Can play both guard positions effectively. Solid role player on a good team.
Ryan Gomes - Developing a 3 pt. shot. Can play both forward positions, but isn’t big enough for 4 or quick enough for 3. Solid role player, shouldn’t be a starter.
Tony Allen - Good defender. Nut case. He’s the youngster we need to get rid of…
Leon Powe - Solid rebounder/effort guy. Will carve out a Danny Fortson-type niche in the NBA somewhere. End of the rotation type guy.
Brian Scalabrinie - Waste of life
Theo Ratliff - Good trade bait
My whole point is that, to give up 3 of those quality guys, a big, expiring contract, and the #5 for a guy who’s not going to get us a ring isn’t worth it, when we should be good as the Spurs and Suns are starting to decline. The perfect fit is to get a shotblocker in the middle who can make up for Big Al’s quickness issues.
To your Miami point, the Heat had gone to the Eastern Semis the year before Shaq. That was a “put us over the top” type move. In that situation, I’d do that in a heartbeat, but the Celtics need to keep building for the future. In the NBA, where AI can be acquired for Andre Miller and some crap to be named later, you don’t give up that much young talent in one trade. You may disagree with me based on your assessment of the Celtics versus mine, but if you saw it the same way as I do, then you’d have to agree, because you truly can’t believe KG, Pierce, and half of those guys above, with the remaining rotation being filled w/ D-Leaguers and other such scrubs would be good enough to get a ring.
June 26th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Celts Fan says:
I mean down the road, as the Spurs and Suns are declining, not that they will this year or even next, which is when we’ll start to get better. I really feel like the Celtics are building something like the Bulls have. We’re where they were 2 or 3 years ago…
June 26th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Bron42 says:
the bulls are built around battle tested college and euro players, not high hoops on low IQed high school athletes AND they have vets. KG and Pierce could easily make a playoff run in the east. If he could do it with walker who jacked every shot, he could do twice as much with KG.
and half the guys u named are dead weight..wally? he hasnt done anything since miami/ohio and might retire soon. I’d kewep tony allen (who carried the team before gettin hurt and is cheaper) over wally “opps i slipped on a towel done for the season” any day. Plain and simple…would I give up big al or green (one or the other) the #5 and theos body for KG? in a heart beat. cuz like i said, pierce said himself he isnt tryin to rebuild or wait around
June 27th, 2007 at 1:13 am
Austin Burton says:
Good point on the difference between Chicago’s young core and Boston’s young core.
Deng = Duke (Final Four)
Hinrich = Kansas (NCAA title game)
Tyrus = LSU (Final Four)
Duhon = Duke (Final Four)
Gordon = UConn (NCAA champs)
vs.
Jefferson = High School
G-Money = High School
Perkins = High School
Tony Allen = Oklahoma St. (Final Four)
Ryan Gomes = Providence
Delonte = St. Joe’s (Elite 8?)