The Trade: Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets

“It’s over. Time to say it again Boston. Anything’s possible. Banner #18 has been secured. The Celtics are NBA Champions.” They’ve finally done it. After 16 long years of waiting the Celtics have gotten the playoff monkey off of their backs. Becoming the first team in the Post-Brady Era to bring a championship back to Beantown is no small feat. But you may be asking yourselves, how did the Celtics get to this moment, where after years of devastating playoff failures the sins of playing down to their competition are now a thing of the past? You can look right to one trade back in July of 2013 as to why Boston was able to regain their glorious empire.

THE TRADE: Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets

At the beginning of the 2012-13 season the Brooklyn Nets were considered a team on the rise. The franchise had just moved across the Hudson River from New Jersey, and even if they lacked a loyal fanbase that the Knicks have, they had good reason to increase their brand. Team owners Mikhail Prokhorov and Jay-Z were starving for a winner to try and take the attention away from big brother at MSG. The year before the Nets did make progress despite missing the playoffs by only 4 games. So at the very least the move to Brooklyn would be a shot in the arm. Especially with a talented core featuring Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, the big fish of the summer of 2011 in Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, and an aging but still effective Jerry Stackhouse. During 2013 the Nets finally broke out of being a punching bag, turning themselves into a dark horse championship contender. However when the playoff arrived, it showed that this talented crew wasn’t ready for the big time. They kept it close with the Chicago Bulls only to lose in a home Game 7. To be fair, the Bulls would have had a higher seed if Derrick Rose hadn’t torn his ACL in the 2012 Playoffs so at the very least Brooklyn wasn’t expected to win despite having a fantastic season. The 2013-14 season would be critical. Prokhorov made it clear when he bought the franchise that he expected a championship by either 2014 or 2015. Both he and GM Billy King would do anything to try and bring home a title. Especially considering that they had made huge trades for Deron Williams and Joe Johnson during that time frame. However, those two men felt like there was still something missing. Avery Johnson did lead a nice turnaround especially considering where they were during the final years in New Jersey, but they felt like he wasn’t going to get along with the media across the Hudson. However instead of going for an experienced coach they hired Jason Kidd, a guy who had just retired after the 2013 season and even if he had a coach’s mind as a player, this would be his big test. Especially with a roster this close to breaking through.

Meanwhile in Boston, the Celtics were heading towards a roster makeover. They had won a championship in 2008 and made it to the Finals in 2010 but a majority of the core was at the end or already past their primes. Even if they made the playoffs in 2013, they were quickly dismantled by their longtime rival in the Knicks. The first thing that Danny Ainge did was not renew the contract of Doc Rivers. Even if Rivers had led the team to a championship, he felt like the team needed a new voice. More on that later. Even if they had young pieces like Jeff Green, and Avery Bradley, plus Rajon Rondo in his prime, the organization felt like they wanted to build a contender in the long run instead of pushing all of their chips to the table. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, the two cornerstones of their franchise when they won it all back in 08 were both in their mid-30s and starting to decline, especially Garnett. Not to mention Jason Terry, their prized acquisition of the summer of 2012 was also on the decline. The Celtics knew that if they wanted to cut payroll, they would have to do the unthinkable. Luckily for them both Billy King and Bobby Marks of the Nets were willing to drink the stupid juice. Those two men were desperately looking for a franchise savior or two. In their eyes, every great team had a marquee trade. The comparison they made was when Boston got KG from Minnesota in the summer of 07. The Celtics at the time were a team that had potential but they lacked someone to take the pressure off of Paul Pierce. Garnett was that guy. (It also helped that they signed Ray Allen, and an aging but still effective Glenn Robinson that offseason too) And Boston got a championship out of it. That is why Brooklyn made this deal. Getting Pierce, Garnett, and Jason Terry was seen as a reach by some but from an impact perspective it was seen as tremendous. Terry would provide a solid touch off the bench to take the heat off of Deron Williams. Pierce was someone who many thought would compliment Joe Johnson very well, and the same with KG complimenting Brook Lopez. Prokhorov said in a statement. “With the arrival of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, we have achieved a great balance on our roster between veteran stars and young talents. This team will be dazzling to watch and tough to compete against.” There was one problem. (BOOM!) The price they paid to get these three men in their mid 30s. Gerald Wallace, MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries, Keith Bogans, and Kris Joseph. In fact Humphries was an expiring contract that didn’t pan out for the Nets, and Bogans was a sign and trade to Boston. That makes sense to trade away those players, plus the remainder of Gerald Wallace’s contract in order to avoid the luxury tax. But here’s the piece de resistance that no one brought up at the time. It was the amount of draft capital they gave up as well. I mean trading two 1sts and a 2nd makes sense, but it gets worse for Brooklyn. “WHAT IS THAT! WHAT THE (CENSORED IS THAT!” THEY TRADED THEIR 1ST ROUND PICK IN FOUR OF THE NEXT FIVE SEASONS! Plus the 2017 1st Round pick is a pick swap, so if the Nets have a worse record than the Celtics, Boston would get the higher selection.

After the first year the results of this blockbuster were expected by many pundits. The Celtics won only 25 games thanks to an aging roster, plus unknown commodities that weren’t ready to make an impact. The Nets on the other hand were contenders as expected. However there were massive red flags right from the get go. Jason Terry did not pan out and was quickly traded to the Rockets the following summer. Pierce and Garnett each had one good year left in them before their arms and legs fell off. The good news for Brooklyn was that their 1st Round opponent was a Raptors team that wasn’t ready for the big time. It showed in the last two games of the series as Toronto was outclassed by the Nets experience. And to top it off, KG KO’ed their comeback hopes at the buzzer. All that series did was delay the inevitable. Getting their asses kicked in five games by the class of the conference in the Miami Heat. The series wasn’t even close other than the final scores of Games 4 and 5, Brooklyn had no answers for LeBron or D-Wade all series. The aftermath of that season was a death sentence for the Nets. Jason Kidd wanted nothing to do with the organization and left them for a new challenge in Milwaukee. (Spoiler Alert: His tenure there was similar to that in Brooklyn) Paul Pierce opted out of his contract only to sign with another East contender in the Washington Wizards. (Weird saying that eh?) Not to mention they struck out swinging in free agency. That’s not even the worst part about this. That would be the 1st Round pick they gave to Boston. That pick was converted into future Defensive Player of the Year in Marcus Smart. The following year both the Nets and Celtics each bowed out in the 1st Round to the Top 2 teams in the East. The Hawks and Cavs. Why Cleveland you ask? Because LeBron left Miami only to head back home to Ohio. In the summer of 2015 the Celtics would trade the 1st Round picks they got from Brooklyn in 2015 and 2018 as part of a sign and trade deal that gave them Al Horford from Atlanta. Just like with Smart we’ll get to him in just a bit.

While the Nets window closed seeing Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and KG all get traded after the 2015 season concluded, it became clear that their window was closed. After 2016 both Billy King and Bobby Marks were fired from the front office, and Mikhail Prokhorov eventually sold the team in 2019 to Joe Tsai who’s been ok but not as bad as the man he proceeded. While Brooklyn was fading to black here is where a third team jumps into the equator. The Philadelphia 76ers were going through what GM Sam Hinkie called “THE PROCESS” Yes you heard that right. At that time Philly was deep in a tank and despite their best efforts to try and get out of it, the Sixers wanted to get as many top picks as they could. There was one problem. Other than Michael Carter Williams who they traded to the Bucks in 2015, every other 1st Round pick they had was used on big men. Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, and some guy by the name of Joel Embiid. They had the 3rd Overall in 2016 to work with however this is where Philly gets desperate. No it wasn’t Hinkie getting forced out by the NBA thanks to allegations of tanking. It was the thinking of new GM Brian Colangelo. He wanted Ben Simmons badly, AND I MEAN BADLY! Him and owner Josh Harris made it very clear, they would do anything to get him even if it involved trading up to the top of the draft. (BOOM!) They did just that alright. The price however wasn’t as bad as they thought, especially since the 1st Round pick in 2017 was Top 4 protected, they did give up two 2nds though for that pick. Yes Simmons was far and away the best player in the draft, but down the road this would be a bad decision. Why? (DRAMATIC MUSIC!) The 3rd Overall pick was used by Boston to select Jaylen Brown who would be the Finals MVP in 2024, how did the Celtics get the 3rd pick after losing in the 1st Round to the Hawks? That trade for Pierce and Garnett baby! You think one trade up to the #1 overall pick was bad enough, just you wait until next year nutcracker! The Celtics for the 2nd year in a row would wind up with the 1st pick thanks to a certain trade in 2013. This was the pick swap year so the Nets at least got to keep their 1st Round pick even if Boston was picking at the top. But not for long said Colangelo and Harris! They drank even more stupid juice than they did for Ben Simmons in 2016. Instead of a 1st and two 2nds, Philly traded away the 3rd pick plus their 1st Round pick in 2019. The player that the Sixers take 1st Overall would become Markelle Fultz. Who many thought at the time was the final piece to their championship puzzle. They already had Simmons, Embiid, Robert Covington, and Dario Saric, plus made a nice move in free agency for JJ Redick, and drafting Fultz looked to be the finishing touches. But it wasn’t. Fultz got the nerves right away, and all but forgot how to shoot while with Philly, he was then traded to the Magic for a bad contract in Jonathon Simmons. Just like the Ben Simmons Trade on Draft Night 2016, the Celtics capitalized on Philly’s mistake. Why? Because guess who they took 3rd Overall? “J! T!” (That catchphrase from TD Garden PA Announcer Eddie Palladino never gets old) Why one of the most marketable players in the game in Jayson Tatum. (Let’s be real, with that ego he would not have fit in with the Philly Media as well) And not to mention the 1st Round pick they got in 2019 would become Grant Williams one of the Celtics key bench players during their run to the NBA Finals in 2022. 

You know what I find ridiculous. The fact that the Los Angeles Lakers had a chance to draft both Tatum and Brown yet passed them up thanks to nepotism and fan favorites of Jeannie Buss is absolutely insane! In 2016 they passed on Jaylen Brown to draft Brandon Ingram who has been a really good player… for the Pelicans. Great! The following year was even worse, they drafted Lonzo Ball over Jayson Tatum because Lavar Ball would have been absolutely ticked off at Buss for not taking him. Especially since this was not only the peak of the Big Baller Brand, but also the Ball Family grew up in LA and were diehard Laker fans. So not only should we blame the 76ers, we should also criticize both Buss and Rob Pelinka. The only reason why the Lakers aren’t getting picked on for allowing the Celtics the riches they’ve had over the last nearly decade is because they won a championship in 2020. But even then there’s a gigantic asterisk behind it. It was played in a Mickey Mouse Bubble, and cold weather had a significant disadvantage thanks to not practicing on their driveways during the pandemic. It’s only ironic that they won the first ever In-Season Tournament Championship in 2024 on top of that. (What is it with LA and Mickey Mouse Titles? You have the Lakers and the Dodgers claim such honors)

Enough of that. We must get further into this backstory. The Nets would come right back into the picture in 2020. They got Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the offseason, and then traded for James Harden. Remember Kyrie, Boston? You traded the last picks you got from the Nets, plus the 2nd Rounders from the Simmons trade to get him. And boy did it blow up for them. It looked like the days of misery were finally over for Brooklyn, hell they even beat the Celtics in the playoffs during 2021. I say this as if there’s a catch. You better believe there is. Boston was missing Brown, Smart, and Horford during that series. Their 2nd best scorer besides Tatum was Jabari Parker. A player who’s best years were behind him after having a solid tenure with the Bucks. (If you exclude the knee injuries) Speaking of Milwaukee, they would take out the Nets in an Overtime Game 7 on their way to an NBA Title that year. Yes Kyrie was injured, and Harden wasn’t 100%, but how does that explain Steve Nash getting massively outcoached and having no answers for the Bucks playstyle. (He’s lucky that Boston wasn’t at full strength in Round 1 or else that series would have gone to a Game 7) You know what I find hilarious? The defacto best teams in the East going into 2022 were the Nets and Sixers. The same two teams that Boston had fleeced in trades which gave them the majority of their key contributors. It looked like the Celtics would never regain their elite form from 2018 and 2020. SIKE! That princess is in another castle! The Leprechauns would not only get their revenge on Kyrie, but they would also end any optimism that Brooklyn had of winning a championship with the Big 3. The Celtics swept their Atlantic Division Rival with ease. Other than Game 1, Boston imposed their will as Ime Udoka coached circles around his old boss. Did I mention that Barclays Center was consumed by a sea of green in Games 3 and 4. There’s that too. It got so bad that Olivier Sedra called out the fans at Barclays for not having an impact on the series. (You do realize that the Nets play 2nd fiddle to the Knicks, Boston has a huge fanbase, and most of their fans at the time were bandwagons) 

But the Nets didn’t have Harden you say. You wanna know why? BEHOLD ONE OF THE BIGGEST LOSE-LOSE TRADES IN NBA HISTORY! (One that also deserves its own document which I will start once this one is over with) Ben Simmons for James Harden. Simmons would become public enemy #1 in Philly, while Harden never lived up to the sky high expectations from Sixer fans. (Never ever compare him and Embiid to Shaq and Kobe) 2023 was a nightmare for both teams especially at the hands of Boston. The Nets lost 139-96 at TD Garden on February 1 in a game where they trailed by 50 points in. That wasn’t even the worst of it. The next day was Groundhog Day. Which was only fitting because the Nets were about to dismantle their 3rd Superteam in 20 years, and what’s ironic is that the Celtics dismantled each one of them. (The Nets couldn’t get past Boston at the end of the VC, Kidd, and Jefferson Era) KD and Kyrie were traded to Phoenix and Dallas. Boston had broken Brooklyn once again, but what about the Sixers? See for yourselves. In the 2nd Round of the playoffs that season, Philly was up 3-2 heading back to the Wells Fargo Center. Not even the most electric Sixers crowd since the Iverson Handicap against Milwaukee in 2001 could stop them from self-destructing. Not even the Celtics playing down to their competition could stop it. When that game was over, everyone knew what was coming in Game 7. The Sixers once again got exposed by their boogeyman. Al Horford and Jayson Tatum put the dagger in their throats for 48 minutes. Oh yeah Al Horford. Remember when Philly was looking for a big free agent signing after losing Jimmy Butler following the 2019 heartbreak against Toronto. Well they thought that Horford would be their answer to help build a wall against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee. The issue was that Horford didn’t fit the system, and would be traded to OKC after the 2020 season. Even when they didn’t want to trade him within the East, the Basketball Gods laughed at them as the Thunder traded him back to Beantown. Where he regained his once great form.

The final phases of this trade back in 2013 came in the 2024 season. The Celtics were this close to a championship yet couldn’t get over the hump despite solid attempts over the years. Two of the prizes of the Pierce and Garnett Trade in Marcus Smart and Grant Williams were shipped off in separate trades. (They also traded away Malcolm Brogdon, and Robert Williams too) Those two deals gave the Celtics Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingus. Two of their biggest contributors during that season. And this is where Boston finds the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. You know what I find hilarious? The Celtics got bulletin board material from every fanbase that they played against that postseason. It can best be described by a single chant. “WE WANT BOSTON! (CLAP! CLAP! CLAP CLAP CLAP!) “WE WANT BOSTON! (CLAP! CLAP! CLAP CLAP CLAP!)” Take it away Tom Brady! “Really? You want Boston? Take it from me, that’s a bad idea. The Culture? HISTORY! Cleveland, DONE FOR IT! Oh wait, wrong team. Indy, OVER WITH! And Dallas, WE MESSED WITH TEXAS AND PREVAILED! But us, WE’RE STILL HERE! RIGHT NOW YOU’RE GONNA WANT ANYTHING BUT BOSTON!” That postseason run by the Celtics resulting in their record breaking 18th Championship, was the culmination of years upon years upon years of them trolling other franchises with trades, playoff victories, and making their fanbases eat massive amounts of crow. And they’ll beat out their ex in Kyrie to win the title as well. It may have taken a bit longer than expected, but Boston fulfilled their end of the bargain in one of the most lopsided trades in NBA History, heck even the history of sports. But before we wrap up Let’s take a look at the final tally.

Pierce/Garnett Trade Aftermath (2013-2024)

Nets received: Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry.

Celtics received: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Grant Williams, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingus, Kyrie Irving, 2024 NBA Championship.

Cavaliers received: Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Kelly Olnyk, Colin Sexton.

Sixers received: Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz.

Hawks received: Kelly Oubre Jr, Kevin Huerter.

Grizzlies received: Marcus Smart.

Blazers received: Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams.

Lakers received: NOTHING!

(There’s probably more, but most of those extras aren’t really that important)

MY OH MY DID BOSTON CAPITALIZE ON THIS BIG TIME!