Kevin Garnett recently retired before the season began and it was just another mark of the end of his era in basketball. KG was a star in the NBA for over a decade, and he’s a surefire hall of famer throughout his stints with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics, and Brooklyn Nets. But one of those landing spots almost didn’t happen and possibly could have changed some things in his career.
Kevin Garnett was traded from the Timberwolves to the Celtics in the summer of 2007 and turned the fortunes of a Boston franchise looking to get one more title run while their star Paul Pierce was in his prime. For the most part, it was a success, but the KG to Boston deal almost didn’t happen. The 2007 Golden State Warriors, headlined by Baron Davis, almost traded for KG. Just another ‘what-if’ involving the ‘Big Ticket.’
Bleacher Report writer Ric Bucher talked to former Golden State Warriors general manager Chris Mullin about that era of the Warriors and almost acquiring Kevin Garnett.
“It was basically done,” Mullin says. “I was doing an extension with [agent] Andy Miller on Kevin Garnett’s deal. KG liked Baron enough, and we had talked enough. He said, ‘Yo, I’ll do it.’”
A 2007 draft-night three-team deal with the Timberwolves and Charlotte (then the Bobcats) would’ve sent Garnett to the Warriors, Richardson to the Bobcats and picks and talent to the Timberwolves. It fell apart, Mullin says, when then-Warriors owner Chris Cohan dragged his feet and ultimately said no….
“We were making moves to get KG, and then we traded J-Rich for Brandan Wright,” says Matt Barnes, one of the few players aware of Mullin’s plan at the time. “We won more games, but it just wasn’t the same anymore. It all shifted so quickly. The magic was gone.”
