(Long Island, N.Y.) The potential blockbuster deal between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets is as good as done, even though we will have to wait until July 10 when it can become official. Once the NBA’s moratorium rule delay is complete, this trade will signal a big swing in the Eastern Conference, as well as on the back pages of all the daily tabloids locally.
The Nets were already a playoff team but now are putting together a formidable group that can certainly make a legitimate run at the Miami Heat. The Celtics were already in a semi-rebuilding mode this season but now are in it full blown with this deal and the earlier one with the Clippers letting head coach Doc Rivers out of his contract.
With a solid nucleus of Joe Johnson, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, Jason Kidd’s inaugural season as a head coach may be a memorable one with the addition of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry. Headed to Beantown are Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, Torneika Shengelia, Keith Bogans (in a sign-and-trade), Kris Joseph and three future first round draft picks.
That makes for a very tough lineup and Kidd will have no time to get his feet wet. The clock is ticking on a few of those big names so it’s a two or three-year window for a championship run. Boston also picked up a first rounder from Los Angeles in the Rivers swap, so they will be loaded moving forward, especially in the extremely deep 2014 draft.
But the focus will be on the Nets and their quest to bridge the gap here. With Garnett, 37, and Pierce, 35, both past their prime, this is certainly a gamble for general manager Billy King. The draft choices will certainly be missed, but if this team goes deep into the playoffs then those are going to be late round selections anyway, which are not that coveted in basketball as they are in other sports such as football.
In only their second season in Brooklyn, the Nets will be the toasts of the town if this trade pays off dividends. This is a star-loving city and the crosstown Knicks have theirs in Carmelo Anthony, but there is a big drop off after him. Williams was the Nets most well known holdover, but both Garnett and Pierce bring a different intangible to the table – that of a winning attitude and highlight film veterans.
Both know well what it takes to win and how to distribute the ball around, something that the Nets will have the luxury of doing with so many able scorers on the floor. At Madison Square Garden, it’s Melo or nothing. So in a flash, the Knicks seem to be trailing in a very big aspect of winning in the Big Apple, that being the media coverage battle.
Is there enough room for two big teams in this town? We will certainly find out and the Nets have put more than the Knicks on notice with this bold move.
