Thank You Kevin Garnett

by Jeff Clark on Aug 1, 2008 4:00 AM EDT in Boston Celtics Articles

Wow. Just wow. Why have I waited this long to thank Kevin Garnett? Maybe because the Championship run started when we finalized the trade for him and I thought this made a good bookend. Maybe because of my unyielding mancrush for KG so I wanted to save the best (with a heartfelt nod to Pierce) for last. Or maybe, probably, I couldn't find the words. I'm still fearful that this will come out a rambling deluge of incoherent mumblings similar to the post game interview KG gave.

So before we go any further, lets look back almost exactly a year ago, when all this broke and the set us on this path.

The Rumor That Just Won't Die - posted before any major news outlet (thanks to posters like rickyfan3.0)
We'll Miss You Al Jefferson - remember when we were all skeptical about giving up Big Al?
The Other Big 3 - thanking the guys that made it happen: Ainge, Doc, and Wyc

But of course, that's not even where my love afair started with KG.

Early in July I was ready to give up my favorite young player for my favorite non-Celtic.

I’m all-in. I’m taking all my chips and pushing them to the center of the table. I’ve played this game of rebuilding for 20 years and I’m done with it. I say lets go for it. All or nothing. Go get KG.
Yes, that means trading Al Jefferson and probably Gerald Green and maybe even a future pick (maybe the one the Wolves owe us from the Wally trade?). That means using Theo and Telfair and probably Scalabrine to make the salaries work (no problems there). That means Wyc will have to pay the luxury tax and hope that his investment pays off in the form of sellouts, playoff ticket sales, and all the revenue streams that contending teams enjoy (he's said that he would pay for a Championship contender, well here's his chance).

In fact, way back in 2005 I was already looking for a way to get KG to Boston.

There is one player that could potentially be on the market this offseason that I would absolutely trade Paul Pierce for (and then some). Kevin Garnett.
Before you call me crazy, consider that the TWolves have just about run out of options. They may have seen their window close last year and are locked into one of the biggest contracts ever. How many teams can absorb this contract and still hope to contend?

My point in all of this is to show that this isn't some spur of the moment bandwagon jump. I didn't just wake up one day and think, "hey, we got KG, that's a good idea that came out of nowhere." I've been dreaming about this for years and years. He has always been my favorite non-Celtic player (well, at least since Kemp ate himself out of the league). I would have done anything, traded anyone, just to get a few years of KG in green.

Thankfully things worked out even better than I could ever have imagined. We got Ray Allen , then we got KG, then we got Posey and a bench, and the rest was history.

Pierce is our Captain, but none of this happens without KG. In fact, without KG, Pierce wouldn't even still be our Captain and he wouldn't be the Finals MVP.

Garnett made this team a contender. He gave this team heart and fire and raw emotion. He gave this team a defensive identity. He gave this team hope. And ultimately, with the help of his Ubuntu teammates, he gave this town a 17th banner.

For all of this and for finally coming to Boston and fulfilling all my hopes and dreams, a huge, ginormous, screaming at the top of my lungs THANK YOU KG!!!!

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Heck yeah! KG is such a key player to have on the squad…his intensity is well documented and the over the top way he displays it without fear or shame is something that rubs off on all his teammates.

He always showed himself to be a great player and man with a respect for the game who puts his whole being into the game, which is something that many Celtics fans will identify with the C’s legend as a franchise. He deserves to wear the Green.

To have KG come in and help push the team over the top with something that can only be described as sheer insanity fueled by heart on the court was the best possible scenario…with the cherry on top being that he scared every Laker into hiding and embarrassed the cocky rivals from across the coasts.

Thanks KG and thanks Jeff!

by WillC on Aug 1, 2008 4:28 AM EDT reply actions

Yesterday there was a link to an article, ?Orlando Sentinel, that insinuated that the Rockets, by getting Artest, now had a similar situation to our’s. Their “big 3” was Artest, Yao, McGrady. My comment was “they just don’t get it”. Forget about KG’s basketball skills. What he instilled here, by the force of his personality and will and by backing up his talk with action, a new organizational culture. It isn’t really a new culture, he brought back the culture that existed in the years from Russell thru Bird and instilled originally by Red Auerbach. There is no one on the Rockets that could do this. Of course, he was able to do this because he had the people around him to support it. KG was the enzyme that made it work.

by TrueGreen on Aug 1, 2008 6:34 AM EDT reply actions

I agree. Teams will try to re-create the big 3 dynamic, but it probably won’t always work. This was a once in a lifetime chance to put three personalities together, all willing to sacrifice because of their hunger to win a title. I think maybe the Brain Doctor finally paid off this year.

by Jeff Clark on Aug 1, 2008 6:37 AM EDT reply actions

There is no bigger thank you.

Without the big ticket, there is no banner year.

Thank you KG. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

by mcpu40 on Aug 1, 2008 7:01 AM EDT reply actions

Jeff said:…I think maybe the Brain Doctor finally paid off this year.

I think what really made this work was Doc establishing the framework of how he wanted the team to play and got KG, PP, RA to buy into it. Doc also established “Ubuntu”. But you needed someone on the floor to make it work and this is where I think KG came into play. But without the willingness of PP and RA it couldn’t have worked. We just hit it right with the blending of the personalities and desires of these three players. Then I think it was these three, including the other players that really made it work. The media had it as if the Team only had three players. These guys understood that it took more than that and made sure that the rest of the Team was included in the reason for it’s success. KG’s personality played a major role here as demonstrated by his having the entire team come out when he was given the “Defensive Player Of The Year” award.

by TrueGreen on Aug 1, 2008 8:13 AM EDT reply actions

Getting KG did give the franchise and fans HOPE – which was diminishing with each passing year. Hope is a good thing in both basketball and life. Acquiring KG added hope to both our basketball and daily lives. Others will try but none can duplicate our “Big Three” title run. And now I have moved on from basketball “HOPE” to “FAITH”. Faith that we (THE BOSTON CELTICS) can do it again!!!

by scndtony on Aug 1, 2008 8:52 AM EDT reply actions

No regrets of course! Said it when the trade happened, we had the best shot of any team to win an NBA ring the minute this trade happened. Say the same thing today. No team in the NBA has a better shot at winning the ring right now then the Celts.

One can argue about the Lakers with a healthy Bynum possibly but they still have to go through the tougher west.

They say it is harder to repeat than it is to get there, if so this will be extra hard especially without Posey. Time to put this “I’m the best player in the game” crappola to the side and start fixating on #18.

by docextension on Aug 1, 2008 9:21 AM EDT reply actions

If anyone’s looking for a good laugh, read some of the posts in the “Rumor that Just won’t die” write up.

by CelticsWhat35 on Aug 1, 2008 9:30 AM EDT reply actions

Agreed with CelticsWhat35 there were a lot of people pissed off about the prospect of getting KG. I remember that post very well. I had no idea what would happen but it was definitely a very exciting feeling just to see Danny make such bold moves.

by GreenBalls on Aug 1, 2008 10:05 AM EDT reply actions

"No regrets of course! Said it when the trade happened, we had the best shot of any team to win an NBA ring the minute this trade happened. Say the same thing today. No team in the NBA has a better shot at winning the ring right now then the Celts. "

Revisionist history much? Did you take a gander at your comments after the Ray Allen trade?

by soap07 on Aug 1, 2008 1:56 PM EDT reply actions

beyond all the “culture” and “hope” everyone loves to talk about, the truth is KG is one of the 3 best players of the post-Jordan era (Duncan, KG, Shaq.. no one else is close.. well until LeBron came along anyway) and one of the 15-20 best players of all time. He brings 15 wins with him anywhere he goes, all by himself. He’s just a remarkable talent.

by cmoney on Aug 1, 2008 2:28 PM EDT reply actions