Ten years ago Monday, the Celtics pulled off a 7-for-1 blockbuster that ended up wildly lopsided in their favor, and not only from a who-won-the-trade perspective. It meant so much more than that.
On July 31, 2007, Danny Ainge and his old pal, Timberwolves general manager Kevin McHale, completed a deal that sent Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, and draft picks that became Wayne Ellington and Jonny Flynn from Boston to Minnesota for the one and only Kevin Maurice Garnett.
Acquiring Garnett, a lock for Springfield even before he arrived to become the screaming fulcrum of the Celtics’ 2007-08 championship team, was a heist of Auerbachian proportions by Ainge.