The Minnesota Timberwolves have now been involved in two NBA blockbuster trades with NBA executive Danny Ainge. On the first occasion, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ interests were represented by former Celtics player and teammate of Danny Ainge, Kevin McHale, who was the team’s Vice President of Basketball Operations.
In hindsight, that was a mistake. But at the time, the deal passed the scrutiny of both VP McHale and team owner Glen Taylor. So what did the trade look like?
At the time that the trade was made, the Minnesota Timberwolves had just finished the past three seasons at 44-38, 33-49, and 32-50, and the team wanted to turn the corner. But instead of doing so, the team plummeted to 22-60 and 24-58 in the next two seasons.
From the Boston Celtics side? They rose from a 24-58 record before the trade to 66-16 the following year. How did they turn the corner so dramatically so quickly? “Trader Danny” as he would be known after acquiring Kevin Garnett, had traded for Seattle Supersonics shooting guard Ray Allen to pair up with power forward Kevin Garnett and their own small forward Paul Pierce. They also benefited from a surging young point guard named Rajon Rondo and rounded out by center Kendrick Perkins. Rondo was acquired by Ainge from the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 NBA Draft.
In the final hours before the trade, the Timberwolves insisted that Rajon Rondo be included in the trade package, a condition that Ainge would not agree to. Instead, Ainge played golf with his buddy Kevin McHale, and McHale wanted the best big man possible.
"“Kevin McHale wanted the best big man available. Al was the best young big man in the league. Me, Kevin McHale, (and) Danny went golfing, and when I finished golf I walked into my room and said, ‘We’re gonna get Kevin Garnett.’ ‘Cause all Kevin McHale kept talking about was Al Jefferson and how good Al Jefferson was. The one thing I learned as far as trades, once a guy loves one part of the trade, he doesn’t even hear the other part.” – Coach Doc Rivers as quoted by NBC Sports Boston"
McHale fell in love with Al Jefferson, and the rest was history.
At the time of the blockbuster trade, Ainge used his special relationship with McHale to dupe him into believing that Al Jefferson’s stock was rising rapidly, while the veteran 31-year-old Kevin Garnett was portrayed as a fading 31-year-old due to having played 12 seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves. We know how that trade turned out for both clubs.