NBA Trade Rumors: Clippers In Active Talks to Acquire Kevin Garnett
By Josh Hill
The Boston Celtics have remained on the fence about trading Kevin Garnett but that apparently hasn’t stopped them from actively talking with the Los Angeles Clippers over the prospect of shipping him to the West Coast. According to NBA guru Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers and Celtics are seriously discussing a trade that would send Garnett to Los Angeles and ship Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan to Boston.
"The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers have been discussing a deal to trade forward Kevin Garnett for guard Eric Bledsoe and center DeAndre Jordan, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. There are differing factions within the Celtics and Clippers on the prudence of the deal, but the two teams have been in regular contact about the possibility, sources said."
Any trade would ultimately hinge on Garnett’s willingness to waive his no-trade clause, a clause that has likely scared of other potential trade partners. But the feeling in Los Angeles is that Garnett can be coaxed into waiving the clause due to his close relationship with Chauncey Billups and the fact that he owns a home in Malibu.
It also doesn’t hurt that Garnett would go from a sour situation in Boston to being on track to retire after winning the second NBA title of his career. Playing with the likes of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul only sweeten the deal for Garnett and it doesn’t take much evaluation of the situation as a whole to believe that Garnett would gladly waive his no-trade clause despite what he’s said about wanting to retire a Celtic.
Los Angeles has been hesitant to part ways with Bledsoe and have refused to do so unless they can be assured that Chris Paul will sign with the team long term. But there seems to be an increasing belief that Paul will remain with the team meaning Bledsoe is an expendable jewel.
The talks haven’t reached the stage of finalization yet, but Boston won’t have to think very hard about swapping and aged Garnett for two young stars on the rise. Jordan and Bledsoe aren’t going to usher in a new era of Celtics basketball right away, but they’re pieces for the future and the Celtics have been bracing for what life after Garnett and Paul Pierce will be like.
If Jordan and Bledsoe are acquired, Boston will have successfully avoided what could have been a long and painful search for a new direction for the franchise.
As for Garnett, if he’s paired with Paul, Griffin, Jamaal Crawford and Chauncey Billups then the Clippers all of a sudden become favorites to challenge the Thunder and Heat for NBA supremacy this season.