In their '13-'14 NBA Preview, Sports Illustrated wrote:"People don't know how close Kevin was to retirement," says Pierce. "He was going to go home [to Malibu]. Boston was his last stop. He was going to play with us, and that was going to be it."
The article recounts how Pierce persuaded KG to join him in Brooklyn and approve a trade from Boston.
A year has passed. Brooklyn had a solid season. They're a good team, but nowhere near elite -- definitely not legit title contenders. They are going to lose Shaun Livingston in free agency. There's a decent chance they lose Andray Blatche. Pierce is a free agent too.
If KG was on the precipice of done a year ago, he's got to be dangling one foot off the edge now. While he can still contribute, his body cannot stand up to the rigors of an 82-game regular season; I cannot imagine he's interested in another regular season grind either.
The most the Nets can offer Blatche is 4 years, $26M -- below market given his age, size and production. Very good chance he's gone, IMO. KG is running on fumes -- the gas light is blinking. Brook Lopez is a very good player, but depending on his health is a risky proposition at best at this point. Plumlee is a good young big, if a bit limited skillwise. Brooklyn needs a big.
I think the Nets plan is to continue to stay good -- hope they can catch a break of health and luck -- and see if they can make a deep run, while keeping their cap as clean as possible for the summer of '16. There have already been stories about how they intend to go hard at Durant (another discussion).
With all that in mind....
Nets trade: Kevin Garnett
Wizards trade: NeneWhy would the Nets do this?
Well, even if KG retires and comes off the books immediately, they still have no cap space. Their best bet to replenish their talent is to trade KG. Nene would fit very well there, could play with any of their other bigs, create matchup problems against other East front courts, etc. This makes the Nets better without hurting their reset plans in two years.
Why would KG agree to this, given his no trade clause?It enables him to take the next several months off and rest -- then decide if he wants to link up with title contender for another run. Given his home in Malibu, and his love of Doc Rivers, you don't have to squint too hard to imagine him joining the Clips as the 3rd big they desperately need. He'd come back ready and refreshed, perhaps having used some of his time off to tour some of Germany's modern "medical clinics." With Pierce's free agency, he may sign there too.
Why would the Wizards do this?Instant cap space. They can retain Gortat and Ariza with frontloaded deals that minimize their cap hits next year. It greatly increases their chance of landing a big star to play alongside our young core in the next two years. Nene would be replaced by lower cost, shorter term stopgaps -- all names we have discussed. Talking heads who don't understand basketball would freak out, and the Wizards would be fine. They'd win 45 or 47 games, another playoff series, and then roll into next summer with max cap space, a first round pick, and their best opportunity to build a contender in years.
