Empty the Bench

Yay! Another underwhelming campaign by the Minnesota Timberwolves, another NBA offseason, and another opportunity for the rumor mill to zero in on Kevin Garnett and the chance he will finally be moved outside of the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

For once, however, we’re willing to halfway buy into the current speculation getting legs around the Web. According to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, Celtics front-office “guru” Danny Ainge confirmed that he has at least spoken with T’Wolves GM Kevin McHale about acquiring the talented forward:

Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge acknowledged yesterday that he has talked with the Minnesota Timberwolves about a potential trade for Kevin Garnett. Ainge refused to comment about a published report that had the Celts shipping Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, and the fifth pick in next week’s NBA draft for the All-Star forward.

Ainge added that based on conversations and calls from other teams, he has not heard a proposal that would make him part with the No. 5 pick. “A lot of people attempt to make trades for that pick that are one-sided,” he said. “So there’s nothing going on for the pick yet.”

Unfortunately for Ainge and the Celtics, they’ve done a poor job of masking their disappointment at free-falling down to five in the draft lottery. Teams know that while Ainge will get over it and take the best player available if they hold onto the pick, they have an increasingly disgruntled superstar in Paul Pierce who has no interest in any more seasons devoted to “rebuilding.” Pierce wants the team to move the pick for a proven veteran, and Ainge does not want to deal with a potential Pierce trade-demand headache (though ETB feels Pierce is the one who should be traded while his value is still high).

As for the Garnett trade rumor… who knows. Kevin McHale is not a good GM, and we have doubts that he’d be smart enough to swing a deal that we’ve been calling for for some time now (and we’re certainly not the only ones). The theorized proposal above seems like a good one for Minnesota: you acquire a future every-year All Star in Jefferson, a young kid with all kinds of upside in Green, an expiring contract from Ratliff, potentially Yi Jianlian with the #5 pick, and a total bonehead in Telfair.

From Boston’s standpoint, they acquire one of the best forwards in the game and… that’s it. I don’t know. The Celts would likely be fielding a starting lineup of Delonte West, Pierce, Ryan Gomes (or Wally Szczerbiak), Garnett, and Kendrick Perkins, with Tony Allen (if healthy), Rajon Rondo, and Allan Ray coming in off the bench. Is that enough to push Boston into legitimate contention in the East? We’re not so sure. But then, we’re equally not so sure this trade will ever go down, period. After all, we’re talking about Ainge and McHale here.