On this day 19 years ago, the Celtics made the move that rewrote their future by landing Kevin Garnett. The trade was always going to be a franchise-altering swing. Garnett was already one of the best players of his era, and what followed showed his value went way beyond points and rebounds - he helped set a culture Boston rode for years.
The part that still gets lost in the retelling is how the deal didn’t include Rajon Rondo.
That mattered. A lot.
Boston knew the window with Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen wouldn’t stay open forever. All three were already in their 30s, so the expectation was that the run would be short.
It was supposed to last three years. Instead, it stretched to five.
The Big 3 didn’t turn back the clock, but they remained good enough to keep Boston in the mix. And when their prime years started to fade, Rondo’s rise filled in the gap.
He became the kind of player who could go right at prime LeBron James, Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant when he was at his peak. That evolution helped cover for the natural decline of the Big 3, and it’s why the trade looks even better in hindsight.
If the Celtics had won Banner 18 in 2010, Rondo probably would have had his number retired. That’s how central he became to everything Boston was doing. It also makes it hard to believe Minnesota never pushed to get him in the first place.
Danny Ainge’s work in 2006 deserves more credit than it usually gets. At the time, plenty of people wondered why he moved the No. 7 pick simply to create cap flexibility, but he clearly believed Rondo was the best prospect in the deal, even if that wasn’t the common view.
Two decades later, the logic looks sharp. That move helped set up the Garnett trade later on, with Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and Portland’s first-round pick eventually being rerouted to Minnesota the next year.
It also gave Boston one of the best players from that draft.
Rondo didn’t arrive like an overnight star. But even as a rookie, he was electric.
Boston had Telfair and Delonte West ahead of him on the depth chart at first, yet it didn’t take long for it to be obvious that Rondo was better than both. Al Jefferson was the only Celtics prospect who looked more promising, and he was the centerpiece of the Garnett deal.
The what-ifs are obvious. If Rondo had been included, maybe Banner 17 never happens.
Maybe the Big 3 era ends in 2009. Maybe Minnesota’s story looks different, too.
Garnett deserves to be remembered for what he brought to Boston. Rondo deserves credit for how long he helped keep the ride going.
In Other News...
Steph Curry Trade Talk Just Raised A Wild New Celtics Debate
The Warriors quiet offseason has only sharpened the conversation around where they go from here, and why the pressure feels so immediate with Stephen Curry moving deeper into the later stage of his career. Golden State has not made any major roster upgrades, which has left plenty of frustration around the direction of the franchise and renewed the broader question of how long the team can keep threading the needle between honoring Currys championship window and planning for what comes next.
Boston has suddenly entered that discussion in a way few expected, with speculation around a possible trade framework that would reshape both teams futures. For the Celtics, any scenario involving Curry is the kind of star-level debate that can alter the whole roster conversation, but for Golden State the bigger issue remains whether staying the course is still enough or whether the front office eventually has to make a painful choice about moving on before the window closes completely. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Fans Already Have A New Paul George Debate
When the Celtics moved Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George, the immediate question shifted from what Boston gave up to what it might eventually do with Georges contract. His player option for the 2027-28 season gives the Celtics a major salary piece to work with, and that alone has already opened the door to a fresh round of speculation about where the roster could go from here.
Boston is clearly mindful of the risk in tying up so much of the cap in two players, even if the talent level is obvious. That is why the conversation has already drifted toward the kind of blockbuster paths Georges deal could theoretically unlock, with names like Trey Murphy III, Donovan Mitchell and Nikola Jokic floating into the discussion as the Celtics weigh whether to keep building around the current core or use the flexibility of an expiring contract to chase a different kind of centerpiece. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics May Have A Veteran Scoring Option Worth Watching Around Tatum
DeMar DeRozans availability has suddenly become one of the more interesting ripple effects around the league, and its easy to see why teams with real playoff ambitions are taking a look. The Sacramento Kings waived the 17-year veteran and six-time All-Star, putting one of the most reliable midrange scorers of his era back on the market at a time when several contenders are still sorting out their perimeter and half-court options.
Miami, Denver and Cleveland are among the teams said to have shown interest, and Boston has also emerged as a possible landing spot as the Celtics think about how to round out their offense around Jayson Tatum. The fit is still mostly theoretical, but the idea of another proven scorer who can also help with secondary creation is the kind of conversation that tends to stick as long as the market stays open. [Read more 🡒]