Leave a Comment

Bill Simmons Likes It Too
CelticsBlog — SportsGuy makes some solid points : Now here ' s where it gets really good: Pierce, Allen and Garnett happen to be wired the exact same way -- three ultracompetitive guys nearing the end of their primes who would sacrifice anything to play on a winner. All of them were stuck in miserable situations last season (combined record: 87-159), all of them are good guys, all of them understand that you only have so many chances to contend. For all three guys, it will be their best team ever, regardless of who ' s playing with them. Allen hasn ' t played with a top-20 player his entire career; neither has Pierce; and Garnett hasn ' t played with one elite scorer, much less two. For Garnett, his major weakness (crunch-time scoring) gets solved with two proven crunch-time scorers helping him. For Pierce, his major weakness (leadership) gets obscured because he has two intense veterans who know how to deal with the media ...

Simmons on the possible trade
I Heart KG — From Bill Simmons: ...

News Roundup
East Coast Bias — ... and a host of expiring contract underachievers. God save us from Bill Simmons....just checked ESPN.com....it's....Too.....LATE!!!! ...

It's a Done Deal
Bright Side Of The Sun — ... to fill the assistant coach position vacated by Marc Ivaroni. What? Oh, you thought this post was going to be about Kevin Garnett, didn't you? Well, no matter how happy I might be to see The Big Ticket go somewhere out of the western conference altogether if he can't join the Suns, I'm sure I could never outdo Bill Simmons on the subject, so I won't even try. So congratulations to the Celtics for managing to pull off what the Suns couldn't (or wouldn't for the sake of their own sanity), and congratulations to Jay Humphries too. 'Night, all.

The News
Mondesi's House — ... --Wondering what Bill Simmons thought about his beloved Celtics acquiring Kevin Garnett? Wonder no more. ...

Beantown's back
the Pig Pen — ... McHale adds another notch to his Celtics legacy [theSportsGuy] ...

The Nightcap
Insomniac's Lounge — ... In a mangled analogy, Simmons writes the Celtics moves were "like watching the World Series of Poker and seeing someone say "screw it!" by going all-in with a jack-nine of spades after a flop yielded two more spades. Is it smart to risk everything on the 25-percent chance that you'll get the flush?" I don't know if that cleared up anything for me on the mindset of the Celtics, but it did provide more evidence that Simmons isn't the expert poker player he imagines himself to be. As most poker players can tell you, the odds of hitting the flush in that situation are roughly 35 percent, which in the poker world is oftentimes a huge difference. And he wonders why he was knocked out of at least one World Series of Poker on day 1... ...

Kevin Garnett Going to Boston
Cleveland Cavaliers News — Kevin Garnett is leaving Minnesota after the Boston Celtics agreed to acquire the All-Star forward in a multiplayer trade with the Timberwolves, a Celtics official told The Associated Press on Monday.Among the players who could be headed to Minnesota are forward Al Jefferson, guard Sebastian Telfair, swingman Gerald Green and center Theo Ratliff, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been completed. The official also said the Timberwolves would get at least one draft choice. Gannett News Service said two persons with knowledge of the negotiations said the deal, which needs league approval, is in place, with details to be ironed out. Source: ESPN

The Kevin Garnett Trade: Day After Reactions
Sportsfrog.com — ... Oh, and Bill Simmons thinks Kevin McHale must still be working for the Celtics. ...

Simmons -- McHale Helping Out His Old Squad?
Hoops and Other Pop Culture — http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070730 ...

KG: The Reaction
RedsArmy.com - The Voice Of Celtics Fans — ... |  Simmons: McHale is still delivering for the Celtics  | ...

Kevin Garnett: In The Aftermath Of The Still-Uncompleted Garnett Trade
Deadspin — ... • The Sports Feller: "All three [Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce] are about to become relevant again in April, May and June. Would you bet against them having monster seasons? Would you bet against them embarking on a 100-game mission to make the Finals? Hell, have three star teammates ever had more to prove in one season?" ...

Kevin Garnett Trade Is A Huge Win for Celtics, NBA
FanIQ Blog — ... Bill Simmons, as you can imagine, barely composed himself to write down his thoughts: ...

Garnett And Green?
The Commission — Waldini: I'm hearing Ainge is mortgaging the future (Green, Jefferson, Gomes, Telfair, etc) to get KG in a Celtics uni. So now you got Pierce, Allen, and Garnett all on the same team. I read Simmons' piece on it and liked the comparison to that '97 Rockets team that had Dream, Glide, and Chuckster. What'chu guys think? Do they win 50 plus? Make the Conf finals? Make the NBA Finals? If nothing more than a revenue kicker, at least they know the season passses are about to become scarce in Beantown. Gangsta D: Just on rep, they would have to be co-favorites along with Chicago. They're all past 30 and never sniffed a title, so I imagine they would keep their egos in control. I think they win 50+ games and make a Conference Finals trip, at the least. Da Realist: Isn't doc rivers still coaching the celts? hahaha...yeah right. they may only make it cause the east is so weak. i say they fall apart under the increased ...

Tuesday (Trade) edition: Wha’ happened?
Randball — ... 4) If you’re upset by this trade simply because you enjoyed watching KG play and liked his personality, you will likely get no argument here or from 99 percent of Wolves fans. He was a joy to watch. Writers who care deeply about Celtics hoops (Bill Simmons and ...

THE OBLIGATORY KEVIN GARNETT POST
With Leather — ... The trade as reported: Garnett to the C's for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff's expiring contract, and future draft picks.  Or, more succinctly: KG for Al Jefferson, chump change, and chumps.  Predictably, fan boners are rock-hard all over the Internet, from the Sports Guy to ...

Again: What of these Red Sox trade rumors?
Red Sox Monster — Well, it's official. On the eve of the Major League Baseball trading deadline, the Red Sox have been completely upstaged by the Boston Celtics, who are suddenly relevant in a way I have to go back to my schoolboy years (think Reggie Lewis) to remember. There's many great takes on it today, ranging from the work of the Sports Guy to ...

Today’s Links 7/31
Boston Sports Nation — ... Simmons:  McHale adds another notch to his Celtics legacy ...

Tuesday Bullets
ESPN.com - TrueHoop — ... Kevin McHale has always been a great Celtic, writes Bill Simmons, and by trading Kevin Garnett, he might be serving the franchise as well as ever. Simmons also makes a great point: "Minny is rebuilding around Jefferson, Corey Brewer, Randy Foye, Gerald Green and Ryan Gomes ... ironically, the same core (along with Paul Pierce) that Boston could have had if it kept its last two first-round picks. So we get to see how it would have worked out if Boston hadn't done anything. It's like watching the Bizarro Celtics." ...

Aloha, Kevin
The Moonball Blog — ... when this all started, I'm kind of okay with KG on the Celtics. The guy has been unappreciated over his career, mainly because he had the misfortune to be linked to an owner and a GM who don't really understand how the league works. As Simmons says, he'll be on the best team he's ever played on, with two guys who want to win as badly as he does, and all three of them will be okay sacrificing whatever they need to to win. The C's still need to fill in the roster (a backup point guard and some ...

what could have been
Geek Thoughts — ... By the way, i also love this article about the trade today, describing it as Kevin McHale's last great contribution to the Celtics (he's the GM for Minnesota). ...

Basketball is BACK in Boston
Hi-Plains Drifter — ... That's what a superstar caliber player--something the Celtics haven't had since Bird retired--can do. Sure, it hurts to lose a quality player like Al Jefferson but, unlike the SportsGuy, I was never convinced he was a franchise player, somebody you could build a team around. He always felt like a poor man's Elton Brand which is a nice piece but not the keystone that would keep you from getting one of the NBA's all-time greats. ...

Link Shuffle: 7/31
We Suck at Sports — ... Bill Simmons' thoughts on the Kevin Garnett trade. - The Sports Guy ...

Late Night Quickie Links
Six Pack Sports Report — ... Finally The Sports Guy writes something that doesn't make me want to gouge my eyes out. (ESPN Page 2) ...

It's not every day that one gets a chance to witne...
Sedition in Red Sox Nation — ... I realize now that my intial reservations about this trade were ill-advised. Bill Simmons has shown me the error of my ways. This trade is awesome. All that remains is for the Celtics to make some nice moves picking up a role player or two and Banner 17 becomes more a fait accompli than a faint hope. After all, when a roster is supposed to have 12 players, it makes sense to commit more than the salary cap to three guys, right? Between Pierce, Allen and Garnett that has to add up to somewhere very close to $60 million. The cap is $57 million, if I remember correctly. I might not have my MBA, but I'm thinking that's not good business. ...

Kill the Headlights and Put It in Neutral
Plissken at the Buzzer — ... For my money, the biggest losers here. They have the most tradeable pieces on their roster, so enough players would have still been around to make them a legitimate contender in either conference. Adding to that point, all those players are young enough to make them attractive to the Minnesota rebuilding process. KG also played his high school ball in Chicago, so the geographical ties are there. Bill Simmons claims that Paxson rolling over PJ Brown’s contract one more year would have made it a sure thing; I’m not convinced they couldn’t have worked something out this summer anyway with some creative trading. Now KG’s playing for one of their traditional conference rivals. Oops. ...

Celtics Hit Flush With KG
Clutch 3 — ... I’ve gotta give a little credit to my man Bill Simmons over at ESPN.  The guy writes a great article (although he does do it for a living, so it better be damn good!).  His most recent post was about, of course, the KG trade.  Check it out here.  But as he’s describing his take on the situation, he made a fantastic poker analogy that I thought I’d share. ...

The Adventures of Grandpa Sports and The Bird Whisperer - Episode 90
10,000 Takes — ... How the hell does Lebron James get into your take when discussing the KG trade for the Boston Celtics pu pu platter deluxe (funny line, Bill Simmons, but we don't agree)? Lebron James is a better scorer than KG, no kidding Bird Whisperer. We hope you enjoyed all eight times you saw the two play against each other since Lebron entered the league in the 2003-04 season. It's a vast body of work to draw a conclusion upon. The thing that bothers us the most when people discuss KG's legacy is this notion that a 7'1" footer (yes, KG is 7'1" tall, not the 6'11 garbage we've been told for the past 12 seasons) doesn't "take over a game" in the fourth quarter. It is much easier for a 6'8" guard/forward who always has the ball in his hands to take a game over by scoring more points than a 7-footer who must rely on other players to feed him the ball in the post. Name us one current big man who can ...

Arc Rebellion
freedarko.com — ... panel, for days on end. Couple that with the preceding neurosis, and I really don’t know how nuts I’ll be about watching them all the times they get nationally televised (BECAUSE MY LEAGUE PASS BELONGS TO THE BOBCATS). Of course that’s a gross exaggeration—still, to return to the theme, this is about getting a job done. Nothing’s gain or lost if KG, Ray Ray, and P-Squared can live together when nothing’s at stake, when their talent and maturity can push them past anyone coasting. We’re waiting for when history beckons, for when this pat assemblage in thrown into more uncertain waters. Let me end this with some FD characteristic Boston-bashing: sorry, but your team has rented credibility. This is by no stretch of the imagination a revitalization of the Celtics brand. It isn’t a dynasty, it’s a three-year window. These aren’t lifelong leprechauns, they’re stragglers wandering in from the proverbial cold. You’re still saddled with a brain-addled GM and a subpar coach. And while ...

The Celtics Are Relevant Again…
NBAce.com - NBA News and Articles — ... . What else needs to be said? Of course, ESPN’s Bill Simmons shares the same sentiments, which is good: we won’t have to hear him bitching about how bad the Celts are, at least for a couple of seasons… I imagine the overall fan reaction is something similar to this (sung to the tune of Tenacious D’s “ ...

Link-O-RamaTo celebrate his arrival in Boston, Kev...
AaronGleeman.com — ... Shockingly, Bill Simmons seems marginally excited about the Celtics trading for Garnett. ...

Looking Back On "The Trade"
17Banners.com — ... solidifying their new Big Three, I thought it'd be fun and interesting to go back and read some of the breakdown/spin/analysis/opinion on the trade. Here are a few for you to enjoy: Boston Herald Boston Globe Scottie Pippen via NBA.com Frank Isola via NBA.com Overall Reaction via NBA.com Hoopsvibe USA Today ESPN.com Bill Simmons via ESPN ...

Wolves Updates 11-1
TWolves Blog - Minnesota Timberwolves News and Articles — ... in Minneapolis. A nice gesture, probably intended to thank the staff before they have to clean up the perpetual mess that will be the T-Wolves season (we kid because we love). In all seriousness, this is a first-class gesture for a kid who realizes that he is now The Man in Minnesota. KG is in Boston and now has the championship that he should have won in Minnesota. Jefferson is the most valuable part of that trade, a man whom our own Bill Simmons called a "potential franchise player." ...

Utah Jazz @ Minnesota Timberwolves - Game Thread
SLC Dunk — ... Kevin McHale takes over coaching duties for the Wolves after ousting Randy Whittman.  He'll be able to see what it's like playing with the players that he's drafted and traded for.  His best moves as a GM were the drafting of Kevin Garnett (yeah for Minny) and then trading him to the Celtics (yeah for Boston). ...