On this date in 2007, the Minnesota Timberwolves traded superstar and former NBA MVP Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics in exchange for five players and two draft picks, and while KG is back, the Wolves have never been the same.
Let’s take a look back at what was perhaps the most…significant transaction in Timberwolves history, aside from the day in summer of 1995 that Kevin Garnett was drafted fifth-overall.
ESPN brought it to everyone’s attention earlier on Sunday, bringing the always-painful topic to the surface. But as long as we’re thinking about it, let’s commiserate together, shall we?
First, here’s ESPN’s breakdown in graphic form:
On this Date: In 2007, Minnesota sent KG to Boston in a 7-to-1 player trade. The Celtics would win the '07-08 title. pic.twitter.com/YU7CgZ7w4Z
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 31, 2016
ESPN took some liberties at turning the two first-round draft picks into Jonny Flynn and Wayne Ellington for the graphic, which, of course, makes the trade as a whole look that much worse.
There’s a bit of revisionist history floating around out there that suggests that the Timberwolves may have had other comparable and possibly even better trade offers out there, but Garnett’s initial refusal to accept a trade, then-front office boss Kevin McHale dragged his feet a bit, and then there was McHale’s relationship with Danny Ainge, the decision-maker in Boston.
At any rate, the Wolves ended up with the mass of players you see listed above. Let’s go through what each of them did in Minnesota…
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