<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Trading Kevin Garnett is a good idea, in the same way that climbing onto a life raft in the middle of the ocean is a good idea. It becomes a good idea only after you scuttle your boat on a reef, and your choices become boarding a life raft or drowning. Wolves general "manager" Kevin McHale made the best deal he could make under the circumstances. That is not a compliment: It was McHale who created those circumstances, and it appears he was forced to make this deal by his desperate owner. If McHale had traded Garnett two years ago, when it became obvious the team was going nowhere and Garnett was only going to lose value, McHale would have commanded a ransom. If he had traded him a year ago, he might have incited a bidding war. Instead, McHale waited until he couldn't cut a deal with anybody other than his old buddy Danny Ainge, the Celtics GM, who, without a former teammate to take his roster refuse, might have eclipsed McHale as the worst general manager in the NBA. Instead, Ainge looks like a comparative genius, in the same way that Homer Simpson might look smart if you stood him next to Lew Ford. The Garnett deal solidifies our state's status as a farm club for Boston. We've given New England Randy Moss, Manny Fernandez, David Ortiz and Garnett, and what have we gotten in return? "Lump of Coal" Lew, the former Red Sox farmhand, and the role players who helped the Celtics to dozens of victories last year. Two years ago, Ainge had a lousy team, a lousy reputation and one frustrated star, Paul Pierce. After two trades with McHale, he's rid himself of the execrable Marcus Banks, the unnecessary Justin Reed, the offensive Ricky Davis, the mediocre Mark Blount, the redundant Ryan Gomes, the one-dimensional Gerald Green, the troublesome Sebastian Telfair, the theoretical Theo Ratliff and the promising Al Jefferson. Ainge now has three stars -- Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen. The Wolves, like losers in a shell game, have zero. McHale has struck out again, only this time he had no choice.</div> Source: Star Tribune
He is right, they should have traded Garnett when his value was high. However, given who they got back, it wasn't such a bad deal. Does the writer even know that Ratliff has a fat expiring contract? And how is Gerald Green one-dimensional? He has all the tools to be an excellent defender, has a jumpshot, and as we know, he can finish around the rim. Imo, McHale didn't do too bad.
<div class="quote_poster">The One & Only Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">He is right, they should have traded Garnett when his value was high. However, given who they got back, it wasn't such a bad deal. Does the writer even know that Ratliff has a fat expiring contract? And how is Gerald Green one-dimensional? He has all the tools to be an excellent defender, has a jumpshot, and as we know, he can finish around the rim. Imo, McHale didn't do too bad.</div> At this point in his career, Green is a bit one dimensional. He's actually not that great at finishing, unless it's in transition. He needs to become better at beating his man off the dribble, because he hardly drives in the paint or gets to the line. Bulking up should help him with that, as well as his defense, because right now he's just too skinny to be effective as anything but a jumpshooter. I'm not saying he's not going to improve, because he has the potential to be the next Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, etc.; I was just saying the author of that article was probably talking about his current game and not his long term potential when he called him one-dimensional. However, the author seems completely oblivious to the fact that Theo Ratliff is walking cap relief. In a league where players as valuable as Kurt Thomas are dealt just to avoid the luxury tax, Theo Ratliff's contract is a huge commodity. It allows them to sign a player like Emeka Okafor, Jermaine O'Neal, Gilbert Arenas, Elton Brand, etc., in what's shaping up to be the top free agency period so far this decade. Bottom line, this deal isn't for the short-sighted.
