Before the ink dried on the KG trade contract, sports fans and journalists began to question the merits of this goliath move by Boston and Minnesota. There is no question that in my mind that Boston overpaid for Kevin Garnett, but it brings up an age old question. It is the same question the Lakers have been faced with since the departure of Shaquille O’Neal and it is a question that every franchise will face at some time in their future. Should you build for the future by developing young players or should you try to win now by trading for high priced free agents?
Danny Ainge is being criticized for trading away Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, and two first round draft picks. No one really cares about his trade of Theo Ratliff or Sebastian Telfair, but overall this trade was brilliant. Ainge has been a terrible GM up to this point. Some of his draft picks and trades have been very questionable, but he had amassed some very good young talent. Al Jefferson is capable of a double double every night and is a wonderful talent along with Gerald Green. Ryan Gomes also added depth to the Celtics bench, but the simple fact is that Boston was not winning with these guys. By trading for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, the Celtics are guaranteed to win more games than they have in the past five years while they were developing all of that young talent. The name of the game is winning. If you lose as a coach or GM, then eventually you will be fired. The Celtics are now very relevant in the East and they will win more games.
The Timberwolves are now loaded with young talent, but will they win in the West? They have lost Kevin Garnett which was bound to happen after this year anyway, so Kevin McHale did a masterful job of swindling Danny Ainge into giving him essentially an entire team for one player. McHale now has enough pieces to trade for a Shawn Merriman or another free agent in the future. One would assume they will let Ratliff go and Telfair’s days are numbered. With two more draft picks the Timberwolves are in a great position for rebuilding, which is something they had to do once KG departed. The problem is that McHale wasn’t winning in the West with KG and the players he received from Boston were not winning in the East with Pierce. What makes anyone think that the T'Wolves will win with this Celtic team minus Pierce in the West? Still, for McHale it appears to be the best he could get for KG from anyone.
The first knock against the Celtic GM is that the players he acquired, Garnett, Pierce, and Allen, are aging while Jefferson, Gomes, and Green are all very young. Kobe and Iverson are also aging, but wouldn’t you trade for one of those guys if they were available. Mitch Kupchak took a lot of heat for not pursuing an aging Jason Kidd, but the fact is that superstars tend to stick around longer than young talent that never develops. Garnett, Allen, and Pierce are not that old and Ainge now has 5 years to develop more raw talent or trade for new players in the future.
The second problem some have with this trio is that their combined salary is around 60 million and that leaves very little room to work with under the cap. To me this is a moot point, because teams like New York and Dallas spend well over the salary cap. Their payrolls are the two largest at 89 and 83 million respectively. Spending more does not guarantee a playoff spot, (Just ask the biggest spender of all, Isiah Thomas, and let's see what it brought him), but for the Celtics if they open up the checkbook and bring in a few roll players this team should be very good.
So do you win now or win later? It all depends on your team and your situation. Boston needed to win now and it appears they will. Minnesota, because of the eventual loss of Garnett, needed to rebuild which means they will win later. Without the trade both GMs would be on the hot seat this year, but now both will get a temporary reprieve. Boston overpaid for KG which makes McHale look brilliant, a hard thing to do these days, and Ainge pulled off acquiring two superstars. The Celtics will win more games in the East than they did last year and they should make the playoffs where they will have a chance to advance. Winning will put fans in the seats, sell more merchandise, and cure all that ails this once proud franchise. I say it was a Win-Win for both teams.
SoCalSportsFan
*The Boston Red Sox did not win a World Series until they finally opened up their pocket books and started spending like the Yankees. It also appears they are well on their way to winning another title, but they had to spend 100 million on Dice-K to get there, and they are still spending like mad picking up Eric Gagne. Sometimes, spending does equal wins.*
I while back I was ready to axe the Danny Ainge experiment. Some of his trades made absolutely no sense to me, but today I think he may have saved his job. With the acquisition of Kevin Garnett, the new look Celtics are a force to be reckoned with. It is not a foregone conclusion that they will win the East, but they are now in the top three teams. With Garnett, Pierce, and Allen, they have all the firepower they need to contend for the top spot along with the Pistons, Heat, and Cavaliers. I believe the Magic are still not in contention with the Lewis signing, but they will be better than they were last year.
The key to the Celtics is for all three stars to remain healthy. KG has been remarkably healthy with Allen and Pierce each missing significant time over the last few years with injuries. Should all three play in every game, they will be in the thick of things come post season.
The Celtics mortgaged their future giving away Green, Gomes, and Jefferson, but they did manage to unload Theo Ratliff and Sebastion Telfair. That alone was worth the trade. Should Jefferson turn out to be a true star in the NBA, the Celtics still gained an existing Super Star in Kevin Garnett. It will be fun to watch to see if the Irish Green can regain some of the former glory of the Bird years.
Danny Ainge is being criticized for trading away Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, and two first round draft picks. No one really cares about his trade of Theo Ratliff or Sebastian Telfair, but overall this trade was brilliant. Ainge has been a terrible GM up to this point. Some of his draft picks and trades have been very questionable, but he had amassed some very good young talent. Al Jefferson is capable of a double double every night and is a wonderful talent along with Gerald Green. Ryan Gomes also added depth to the Celtics bench, but the simple fact is that Boston was not winning with these guys. By trading for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, the Celtics are guaranteed to win more games than they have in the past five years while they were developing all of that young talent. The name of the game is winning. If you lose as a coach or GM, then eventually you will be fired. The Celtics are now very relevant in the East and they will win more games.
The Timberwolves are now loaded with young talent, but will they win in the West? They have lost Kevin Garnett which was bound to happen after this year anyway, so Kevin McHale did a masterful job of swindling Danny Ainge into giving him essentially an entire team for one player. McHale now has enough pieces to trade for a Shawn Merriman or another free agent in the future. One would assume they will let Ratliff go and Telfair’s days are numbered. With two more draft picks the Timberwolves are in a great position for rebuilding, which is something they had to do once KG departed. The problem is that McHale wasn’t winning in the West with KG and the players he received from Boston were not winning in the East with Pierce. What makes anyone think that the T'Wolves will win with this Celtic team minus Pierce in the West? Still, for McHale it appears to be the best he could get for KG from anyone.
The first knock against the Celtic GM is that the players he acquired, Garnett, Pierce, and Allen, are aging while Jefferson, Gomes, and Green are all very young. Kobe and Iverson are also aging, but wouldn’t you trade for one of those guys if they were available. Mitch Kupchak took a lot of heat for not pursuing an aging Jason Kidd, but the fact is that superstars tend to stick around longer than young talent that never develops. Garnett, Allen, and Pierce are not that old and Ainge now has 5 years to develop more raw talent or trade for new players in the future. 
The second problem some have with this trio is that their combined salary is around 60 million and that leaves very little room to work with under the cap. To me this is a moot point, because teams like 
