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!!!!
More Thank You's: Leon Powe | Big Baby | Inactives | Rajon Rondo | Kendrick Perkins | Eddie House | Ray Allen | PJ Brown | Wyc Grousbeck & Owners | Sam Cassell | Paul Pierce | Kobe Bryant | Doc Rivers | Assistant Coaches | James Posey | Danny Ainge | 17 Thank You's