Wolves got a lot for Garnett
The trade of their franchise player netted a nice package
The renovations have begun in Minnesota, which has acquired young talent, financial flexibility and the draft picks needed for a massive rebuilding project
There are many axioms in the NBA, one of which is the team that gets the best player in a trade gets the better of the trade.
No one is denying that the Boston Celtics engineered a coup in landing Kevin Garnett, a true superstar who will team with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to make basketball in Beantown relevant again.
However, the Minnesota Timberwolves could have done a lot worse in unloading the face of their franchise. With Garnett, they had missed the playoffs three straight years. The time was right to try it without him.
“Minnesota got a good deal in this deal, a good trade,” Celtics VP Danny Ainge said.
The package Wolves VP Kevin McHale got for Garnett has a nice mix of young players with potential, expiring contracts and draft picks – the three necessary ingredients for a rebuilding project. It remains to be seen whether McHale will be the architect; usually, the demolition expert and the contractor are two different people.
Whether it is McHale or someone else, however, the proper pieces are in place. Here’s a look:
YOUNG PLAYERS: Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes.
All three players have shown flashes of brilliance over the past two seasons, but Jefferson is destined for stardom. Just 22 years old, he averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds in 69 games last season, many of those without the injured Pierce attracting attention away from him.
Jefferson moves into the Western Conference, where he will face a heavy diet of star power forwards such as Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and Elton Brand. He, guard Randy Foye and swingman Corey Brewer will be the top offensive options for many years in Minnesota.
Green, 21, may be the most athletic player in the NBA. The Slam Dunk champion often appears to be playing on a trampoline. He averaged an erratic 10.4 points last season as he learned on the job, trying to develop better ball control and more consistency in his shot, both of which still need work. But his ceiling is unlimited.
Despite being an undersized power forward, Gomes has the work ethic, professionalism and spot-up jumper to be a 10-year veteran. All three players should benefit from the veteran influence of Juwan Howard and Trenton Hassell, two positives in the locker room.
EXPIRING CONTRACTS: Theo Ratliff is among the many players who took the money and ran in Portland. He is on the books for one more season at $11.66 million. Bassy Telfair’s career will be at a crossroads after making $2.6 million in the 2007-08 season.
Those contracts, plus the nearly $10 million headed to Ricky Davis and Eddie Griffin, come off Minnesota’s salary cap next summer. The Wolves will have around $25 million in flexibility to pursue free agents and sign Jefferson and Gomes to long-term deals.
DRAFT PICKS: The Wolves acquired Boston’s 2009 first-round pick and their own 2009 pick they had sent to the Celtics in the Ricky Davis trade. Unfortunately, O.J. Mayo will probably be in the 2008 draft.
However, those two players will join a roster that currently has 10 players 25 or younger, including Jefferson, Green, Gomes, Foye, Brewer, surprising rookie Craig Smith and Rashad McCants.
Believe it or not, the Wolves have some depth to continue to deal, perhaps for another veteran. At the wing position, they have Foye, Green, Brewer, McCants, Davis, Hassell and Marko Jaric. At power forward, they have Jefferson, Gomes, Howard, Smith and Mark Madsen.
Minnesota is not making the playoffs. It should concentrate on making progress.
