By Anthony Strait, OTSL Panelist
The
NBA Draft is one of sport’s most premier events in one of the biggest cities.
The draft is a night where childhood dreams become reality. Kids who dream of
making it to the NBA realize it on this night. Brooklyn becomes basketball
central as the future meets the present and the teams take the first steps
towards the next season. The night can also remind you that the National
Basketball Association is a business and as such, personal feelings go out the
window. Players who were drafted are often traded for one another and deals
involving future picks are made. Five years ago saw such a trade take place and
to this day change the fate of two franchises. The Boston Celtics and Brooklyn
Nets will forever be linked by an “all-in” draft night trade that saw the
rebirth of one team and the demise of another.
Entering
the 2012-13 NBA season there was a sense of renewal around the Nets. The move
from New Jersey to Brooklyn gave a doormat franchise a chance to start over. Its
best years had come a decade earlier with consecutive NBA finals appearances,
but had fallen on tough times towards the end of its 35-year stay in Jersey. A
new owner; new logo and colors; along with a brand new arena; and the Nets were
ready to take a bite out of a market that had largely been dominated by their
cross-town rivals the New York Knicks.
The Nets started the season hot out of the gate, including a
win over the Knicks. After a blistering November the Nets went cold in the
month of December. The Nets fired Coach Avery Johnson after losing 10 of 13
games and replaced him with PJ Carlesimo. Led by Deron Williams and All-Star
Brook Lopez, the Nets rebounded to finish with a 49-33 record. They entered the
playoffs as the fourth seed in the East, but after taking three games to one
lead in the series the Nets faltered. The result was a first round upset loss
to an injury-plagued Chicago Bulls team which included a 99-93 game seven loss
at home. Despite the disappointing end, the first season in Brooklyn was
largely considered a success.
The Boston Celtics run among the elite in the league was
coming to a slow end. Age had begun to catch up to their Big Three of Paul
Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. After a NBA championship in 2008 and a
return trip to the finals in 2010, Boston would slowly decline. The Celtics had
one more push in 2011-12 but fell to the Miami Heat and their Big Three of LeBron
James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the conference finals. The 2012-13 season
saw Boston struggle through injuries and inconsistency. Rajon Rondo played only
38 games due to an ACL injury. The Celtics won just 41 games and did not win
the Atlantic division for the first time in five years. The Boston Marathon
bombings rocked the city and the country that April. The Celtics, like many of
the Boston teams, looked to galvanize a city in mourning. Despite strong
efforts from Pierce and cutting into a 3-0 series hole; the Celtics ultimately
fell in six games to the Knicks in round one.
With the contract of Coach Doc Rivers also expiring, the loss
marked the end of the run of the Celtics Big Three. While Boston was looking at
a lengthy rebuild, Brooklyn - thanks to its success - felt it was one key move
or two away from contending for a championship. Looking to make a big splash to
steal the backpages from the Knicks; the Nets decided to go all in at a title
run. The NBA draft took place on June 27, 2013 in the Nets backyard, the
Barclays Center. Brooklyn was looking to make that move that would put them
over the top and entrusted GM Billy King to make it. The Celtics were more than
accommodating, or so it appeared. With Rivers now a coach for the Clippers, the
rebuild could start in earnest. The Nets were already developing a reputation
for dealing to Win Now at the cost of future help for the team. They traded
draft picks to sign Deron Williams and gave up a ton to acquire Gerald Wallace
in 2012. But it would pale in comparison to the move they made on draft night.
The deal seemed like a home run on Brooklyn’s end. The Nets
received Kevin
Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry and D.J. White from the Celtics. In return
the Celtics received Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Kris
Joseph, Keith Bogans, three first-round picks (2014, 2016 and 2018), plus the
right to swap first-rounders in 2017. Brooklyn was immediately elevated as a favorite
to dethrone the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference. The Nets, with the trades,
watched their payroll skyrocketed to $200 million dollars including luxury tax.
Garnett’s inclusion required him to wave his no-trade clause but it also made
the trade much more complicated for Brooklyn. The Celtics received what they
needed to rebuild, with new coach Brad Stevens tasked with guiding the historic
franchise through its growing pains. A key to this trade was that the picks
were unprotected, meaning the Celtics could swap their own draft pick for the
Nets should they finish with a worse record. The Nets were praised for the move
and tickets sales went through the roof as many anticipated a deep playoff run.
The 2013-14 season began with championship
expectations for Brooklyn but things went bad from the start. Lawrence Frank
was removed from his assistant coaching duties by new coach Jason Kidd. Deron
Williams sprained his ankle in the off-season and missed training camp and most
of the preseason. New guys Garnett and Pierce, discontent with the culture and
structure of the organization, only grew as the season rolled on. Brook Lopez
would be lost for the season with a broken foot while, in-fighting among Kidd,
the front office, coaching staff along with locker room turmoil, cast a shadow
on a team many felt was a contender. The team got out to a 10-21 start but
rebounded to win 44 games and the six seed in the East. The won their first
playoff series in several years by defeating Toronto, but lost in five games to
Miami despite winning three of four regular season meetings with the Heat. Joe
Johnson emerged as clutch while Pierce played well and Kidd grew as a coach.
But after just one season the plug was pulled on the “all or nothing” Nets.
Jason Kidd moved on to Milwaukee after a failed
power play and a falling out with Nets management. The team itself disappointed
on and off the court and the organization lost more than $144 million. As a
result owner Mikhail Prokhorov closed the check book, a major reversal from his
reputation of sparing no expenses. The Nets lost much of the assets acquired
from those trades for nothing as Pierce, Shaun Livingston, and others either
left as free agents or were traded. Kevin Garnett would be traded back to
Minnesota halfway through the next season. Lionel Hollins was brought in to
replace Kidd and clashed with everyone including Williams, who was now a shell
of the All-Star he was earlier in his career. The Nets made the playoffs in
2014-15 despite a losing record but were eliminated by Atlanta in six games. Just
like that, the biggest trade had blown up and left Brooklyn in shambles.
The Boston Celtics entered the 2013-14 season
basically devoid of any real talent. With Brad Stevens at the helm, the Celtics
would finish 25-57 and miss the playoffs. It would be the last time to date
that Boston would miss the playoffs. The following year saw the Celtics ship
the last piece of the Big Three era out of town as Rondo was traded to Dallas
and Isaiah Thomas was acquired from Phoenix. Boston won 40 games and returned
to the playoffs before being swept by the Cavs. The 2015-16 season saw another
increase in wins as the Celtics won 48 games but again failed to advance past
round one. The next season saw the wins increase to 53 games as Thomas became a
MVP candidate. Boston advanced to the Eastern Conference finals before losing
in five games.
The draft picks the Celtics got out of the
trade have led to some key players being added that largely contributed to the
success of the team this past season. Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown were draft
selections Boston made by swapping picks with Brooklyn which came due to the
Nets having one of the worst records the last three seasons. Perhaps the
biggest came in 2017 as the number two pick went to Boston instead of Brooklyn
and Jayson Tatum was selected. Tatum became an emerging star and rookie of the
year candidate as the Celtics made it back to the conference finals. Added depth
helped the team overcome injuries to Gordon Haywood and Kyrie Irving. The 2018
draft was the last season the Celtics owned the Nets draft pick but was used in
the trade to bring Irving to Boston from Cleveland. The Cavs drafted Collin
Sexton with the number eight pick. The Nets also regret the draft picks given
away in other deals which led to the Portland Trail Blazers selecting all-star
Damian Lillard. A pick traded to the Lakers resulted in Kyle Kuzma being
drafted. While Boston was able to rebuild almost right away, the Nets have felt
the weight of a gamble that failed since that fateful night in 2013.
After years of what-ifs and miscues, Brooklyn
will have its own draft picks and cap room next summer. The Celtics for their
part are contenders in the Eastern conference and will be again going into the
2018-19 season. Five years later this trade is viewed by many as one of the
worst trades in history as it left one team crippled for years while boosting
the rebuild of another. The Nets, in a bid to win a championship under
unrealistic expectations, became a cautionary tale in the business of NBA
trades and their short-sighted moves became magnified with each budding young
talent they missed out on. Danny Ainge cemented his reputation as one of the
best front office executives by turning the Celtics into contenders and adding
young talent for the future.
Next summer both teams will be on equal footing
entering the offseason as five years later Brooklyn finally has a light at the
end of the tunnel. One of the worst trades in the modern era of sports will be
completely paid in full.
