Trades change the Landscape

By Tuesday night the wagering landscape had changed on many fronts and the fallout in most cases will not be known for some time with immediate consequences felt at off-shore sportsbooks and casinos in Nevada because of trades in the NBA and Major League baseball that transpired.

The most widely known is the Kevin Garnett trade from the Land of 10,000 Lakes to the banks of the St. Charles River. The impact of two former Celtics players, now recognized as bubbling general managers, was easily identifiable on the Richter Scale of at least 8.3.
Minnesota’s GM Kevin McHale was never going to win a title with Garnett, not because of K.G.’s lack of skill, but because of his lack of skill in securing enough quality players that fit with the former prodigy. The excuses of having to pay Garnett too much money falls on deaf ears since it has been done in a variety of sports including the NBA. For all of wonderful qualities Garnett has, he never seemed to be the greatest of stars making others around him better. Maybe his former Timberwolves teammates didn’t have another gear to reach down to improve, yet in the end the hard working Garnett was like Lionel Ritchie, better known as solo act than in a group.
This deal works wonders for Kevin McHale staying employed in the Twin Cities as he probably buys himself three years. With a completely new cast, he can spread his arms out with palms up like he did as a player and say “What, me screw up?”

The crestfallen look on Danny Ainge’s face after not getting the number one or two draft choices from the lottery was much like Phil Hellmuth’s look going all in with pocket aces and losing on the “River” card to a straight flush. To Danny boy’s credit, he realized doing TV commercials in Massachusetts and Arizona was not what he wanted to do the rest of his life and like a poker player, showed his funambulism going “all in” trying to acquire pieces to place with Paul Pierce. (Say that fast five times) Oddmakers across the world adjusted the Celtics chances winning the Eastern Conference anywhere from 50-75 to 1, to 7-2 and now are the betting favorite at 5-2 at Sportsbook.com.
Opinions are varied as to how this might play out. StatFox Steve said this “The Celtics trade for Garnett was a coup for GM Danny Ainge. Not one of the numerous players he unloaded will ever amount to anything close to the "Big Ticket". K.G. immediately puts this team on the map as a contender in the Eastern Conference, similarly to the way Shaq did when he came to Miami. Paul Pierce-Ray Allen-Kevin Garnett is as good of a threesome as there is in the entire league, assuming Pierce can roll with the changes of not being "the man" anymore. While the 5-2 odds at Sportsbook.com to win the East may be a bit overzealous, there is no question that this is a serious contender now. Not only did Ainge pickup elite players in Allen and Garnett, he also got two of the league's most respected citizens, a rarity in this day and age.”

A larger problem comes into play for head coach Doc Rivers. Besides Garnett who plays defense for Boston? Ray Allen was not on anyone’s all-defensive team in his prime, now after a couple of ankles surgeries, hmmm. Paul Pierce has taken a great deal of punishment going to the baskets all those years and has not been able to stay healthy the last couple of seasons. If either or both get hurt, Garnett has much the same situation as he had in Minnesota, just wearing different uniform. Boston in the NBA finals, about as likely as Tom Brady deciding to play quarterback left-handed.