Regardless of the sport, it’s never easy to trade a franchise icon. After two straight losing seasons in 2005–06 and 2006–07, the Minnesota Timberwolves understood they were nowhere near being contenders, despite having one of the game’s best players in Kevin Garnett.
In the 2007 offseason, the Wolves swung a deal with the Boston Celtics. In exchange for KG, Minnesota received Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, and two 2009 first-round picks.
On the latest episode of The Hoop Collective, the crew spoke about crazy NBA trades that never happened. According to Brian Windhorst, Garnett was nearly traded instead to another storied franchise: the Los Angeles Lakers.
“That was the story," Windhorst said. "It was Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, and some draft picks, with Garnett coming to the Lakers.”
Without knowing the draft picks, this probably would have been a better return for the Timberwolves than what they received from Boston.
Bynum and Odom would have likely been two best players on the Timberwolves
There was actually a brief time when some argued that Bynum was the best center in the league. That came a few years after he reportedly almost got dealt to Minnesota. The year after Garnett was traded, Bynum averaged 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks.
It wasn’t until 2011–12 that Bynum was named an All-Star and earned a spot on the All-NBA second team. He was involved in a four-team trade during the 2012 offseason that sent him to the Philadelphia 76ers and Dwight Howard to the Lakers. The 7-footer missed the entire 2012–13 season after injuring his knee while bowling, played just 26 games the following year, and then his NBA career was over.
There’s a good chance that Bynum would have developed into a more productive player earlier if he had been traded for Garnett. That’s what happened with Jefferson, as he averaged 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in his first two years with the Timberwolves. Minnesota was one of the worst teams in the league both seasons, so someone needed to score.
At the time of the Garnett trade, Odom was just 27 years old and squarely in the prime of his career. He would soon move into a sixth-man role, in which he would thrive, as Odom was named Sixth Man of the Year in 2010–11.
Having two players who played such vital roles in back-to-back championships for the Lakers in 2009 and 2010 may have helped Minnesota move up the standings more quickly.
Reminder once again that the Timberwolves passed on selecting Steph Curry
The two picks that Minnesota acquired from Boston in 2009 turned out to be the sixth and 28th selections. With the latter pick, they selected Wayne Ellington. With the first of those picks, the Timberwolves selected Jonny Flynn—one pick before Stephen Curry.
Had Minnesota taken Curry instead, the trade could have been seen as a win-win. Garnett, of course, won a championship in his first year with the Celtics, and Boston also reached the NBA Finals again in 2010.
Curry is still going strong today, and while he may not have had all the success he’s had with the Golden State Warriors if he had been selected by the Wolves, it still would have been a much better pick than Flynn.
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