On draft day, the Boston Celtics really wanted Justise Winslow. They were willing to offer the Charlotte Hornets, who had the 9th overall pick, 6 draft picks in order to get Justise Winslow before the Miami Heat did with the 10th Overall pick. We now know that this didn’t happen. The trade didn’t go through and the Charlotte Hornets selected Frank Kaminsky, leaving Justise Winslow for Miami at 10. So what happened?
According to Zach Lowe of Grantland, Michael Jordan threw down the G.O.A.T Veto:
“Some members of Charlotte’s front office liked the Boston deal, but Michael Jordan, the team’s owner and ultimate decision-maker, preferred Kaminsky to a pile of first-rounders outside the lottery, per several sources,” Lowe writes. “That’s justifiable, if you think your guy at No. 9 has a chance at stardom. The talent gap between No. 9 and No. 15 is real; just ask Boston how it felt to squeeze into the playoffs, get demolished by a Cavs team in chill mode, and watch Justise Winslow fall right where it could have picked had it won three fewer games.
“But Kaminsky is not a star, and the players Charlotte could have grabbed with those four picks will almost certainly produce more combined over their careers than Kaminsky.”
Kaminsky has a chance to be a very good player, even a Dirk Nowitzki type of player. He is not a star. Justise Winslow has star power, the type that would be able to help a shooting guard lacking team in the Hornets. Winslow is clearly a good replacement for the aging franchise player Dwyane Wade. Pat Riley knew what he was doing. He found his star replacement. It’ll be a while until we see how bad this trade could have been for both sides. Obviously we need to see how those 6 draft picks will do and also see how Frank Kaminsky and Justise Winslow turn out. Who knows, maybe Michael Jordan saw something we didn’t. He is the G.O.A.T after all. Or is he… anyone remember Kwame Brown?
