bbd24 wrote:GoGreen wrote:bbd24 wrote:
Sorry Charlie, that’s not just a 4 yr resume. He’s got 18 years of greatness at GM. He truly is one of, if not the smartest GM’s around.
The fact he's had 18 years only hurts his case. 18 years and this is the best he can do?
And imagine if McHale didn't do his buddy a solid. Ainge has never proven he can build a competitor through the draft... in 18 years. And now he has flimsy assets to build around the Jays.
You just came off of 3 conf finals trips ???? Everyone wants a championship but gimme a break. You’re talking like he’s been bottom of the league the past 5 years.
Afraid not. You know why ? You give a GM like this a top 5 pick just once, that’s the last you see being a bottom feeder.
Fortunately, we have him and Wyc is smarter than message board posters.
It is a fair question to wonder where Ainge would be now if McHale hadn't been named general manager of the Timber Wolves. I strongly believe without that relationship and without McHale's Celtics ties, Kevin Garnett ends up elsewhere. It may not have even been LA, it could have been a place like Chicago or elsewhere a season earlier.
Without that KG trade, there is no Nets trade in all likelihood so no Tatum/Brown. But without the Nets trade and without the KG trade, Ainge probably sells off Paul Pierce to the highest bidder a year or two earlier than he brought it KG/RA.
I am very APPRECIATIVE of Kevin McHale who bled green and was willing to play with a broken foot in 87. McHale obviously wanted Kevin Garnett on the Celtics if he couldn't win with him on the Timber Wolves. McHale can obviously never say this.
So, the other person to thank besides McHale.....I hate to say it is Joe Smith's agent and David Stern. Without David Stern screwing over the Wolves by penalizing them way too much for the Joe Smith fiasco/illegal signing, maybe the Wolves would have won enough games where they decided it made sense to keep KG.
I am sure Ainge/Celtics are not the only team to benefit from an ex player named general manager of another team doing his former club a huge favor. McHale didn't play with a broken foot vs LA in 87 to gift them KG 20 years later.
In McHale's shoes, the Lakers bid would have had to be twice as good as the Celtics for me to even consider accepting it. I suspect McHale thought the same thing. Younger fans under 40 probably don't have full appreciation of how big the Celtics/Lakers/Philly rivalries were.
I just don't believe any statement from McHale or anyone else that overemphasizes Wolves not wanting to trade within their own division. Wolves were rebuilding and at best they would probably be very good in 3-4 years and by then KG not expected to be a as big of factor for that long at least. I suspect multiple people in Wolves organization and not just McHale didn't like the Lakers given their success with Shaq and possibly getting away with much more consequential illegal tampering themselves.