I’m not an I-told-you-so kind of guy, not really. But it finally appears as if the Timberwolves are taking my long-standing advice and are ready to trade Kevin Garnett.
The Bulls should have had him a year ago and would have won the East, and Garnett finally would have been to the Finals. And Minnesota would have had a core to build around with Tyson Chandler, Luol Deng and the No. 2 pick in the draft. Yes, they turned that down.
Now get this — the talk is Minnesota wants draft picks and salary-cap relief, and that’s why Garnett probably doesn’t go to the Bulls.
Timberwolves general manager Kevin McHale is said to be interested in only a limited number of prospects in this draft. Minnesota has the No. 7 pick and McHale supposedly wants a higher pick, which hurts the Bulls at No. 9. That’s why there is serious talk of a deal with the Celtics, who have No. 5. Some insist that deal isn’t dead yet, and talk of another trade continues to have legs.
All the particulars aren’t established, but the basics are the Suns get Garnett, the Celtics get Shawn Marion and the Timberwolves get the No. 5 pick, the Hawks’ unprotected first-round pick for next season, which the Suns hold, the Suns’ two firsts this year (No. 24 and 29) and the expiring contracts of Kurt Thomas and Theo Ratliff.
The holdup supposedly has been Marion’s reluctance to go to Boston — he has an opt-out clause after next season. But this is unlike Garnett’s refusal. There’s a huge market for Garnett; not so Marion. The Celtics would hold Marion’s “Bird contract” rights. They’d be the only team that could realistically make up the $17.8 million Marion would give up if he opts out.
This is a deal that makes sense all around, especially now that Kobe Bryant has reopened a dialogue with the Lakers and speculation has the Lakers making an offer to Minnesota for Garnett. He lives in Malibu and he and Bryant are said to talk frequently, getting together recently to discuss playing together.
But the Lakers don’t have the draft picks to entice Minnesota, and you can be sure the Suns wouldn’t want to see Bryant and Garnett together in their division.
You also could see the Mavs getting involved — Garnett for Dirk Nowitzki? Minnesota finally seems to understand it’s time to move forward.
The Timberwolves would have two top 7 picks this year, and with the ’08 Atlanta pick they would have a good chance to be in the lottery next year. They also would have oodles of salary cap room coming up for big free agents due on the market. And even if big-time guys aren’t going to Minnesota, saving $60 million isn’t bad.
I’d have to commend Minnesota management. And it would be worth a shot for Boston. The Celtics looked better playing quicker and smaller with Al Jefferson at center at the end of last season, and there’s no way they’re moving Paul Pierce, who’s 30, has a huge contract and is a favorite of owner Wyc Grousbeck.
A front line of Pierce, Marion and Jefferson would be intriguing and capable of fulfilling GM Danny Ainge’s dream of playing fast. And where would Marion go? Who under the salary cap is going to invest their future in a 30-year-old Marion in 2008?
OK, I’m in.
More trade talk
Here’s another deal that makes sense and should happen, though it’s difficult to work any trades with Atlanta because of a muddled ownership situation. And I’m also told no such talks have taken place, but they should: The Bucks should re-sign Mo Williams and trade him and No. 6 for the Hawks’ No. 3 and No. 11.
The Hawks need a point guard but are said to be leaning toward Florida’s Al Horford, who is emerging as the consensus No. 3 pick. With all the forwards the Hawks have drafted in recent years — Shelden Williams, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Josh Childress — you’d think they wouldn’t need another. Are they using the old Jerry Krause power forward draft manual (Mark Randall, Byron Houston, Corie Blount, Dickey Simpkins, Jason Caffey and Travis Knight in consecutive drafts, then Marcus Fizer after Elton Brand. And don’t forget Stacey King, Horace Grant and Charles Oakley.)
The Hawks could then take Ohio State’s Mike Conley Jr., though the consensus is they take a point guard at No. 11, either Acie Law or Javaris Crittenton. But in Williams they’d get a veteran guard, and though he’s not a classic ballhandler, he’d fit with Joe Johnson, who also handles the ball. And how many building projects can the Hawks continue with? Especially since they don’t have their first-round pick in 2008, which went to the Suns in the Johnson deal.
Atlanta would still get a good forward, perhaps Brandan Wright, Corey Brewer or Jeff Green at No. 6. The Bucks like Conley and would love to pair him with fellow Ohio Stater Michael Redd. They could take the chance he falls, but why risk it? The Hawks could absorb Williams’ salary, as they are under the cap, and probably send back a reserve point guard such as Tyronn Lue. And the Bucks add another good young prospect at No. 11 such as Spencer Hawes, Al Thornton, Julian Wright or Jason Smith. A good deal for both.
Whither MJ?
This looks like put up or shut up time for Michael Jordan. The Bobcats have salary cap space they say they’ll use and Rashard Lewis is the obvious target. You figure the Magic will keep Darko Milicic and is out of the big free agent bidding. The Bobcats could play Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace (assuming they re-signs him) in the backcourt with Lewis and Emeka Okafor up front and perhaps make a nice jump, and then use the No. 8 pick for a big man, though there’s talk of using that pick in a deal for Warriors guard Jason Richardson.
In Seattle, meanwhile, the question may be whether the Sonics want to keep Lewis as they look like a team that could make a major jump with Kevin Durant joining Lewis and Ray Allen on a running team. But new general manager Sam Presti is a proponent of the Spurs’ defense-first system, which works best if you have Tim Duncan. That system turned LeBron James into a half-court player. If the Sonics choose that direction, they’d probably try to move Lewis and go with Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo as coach.
All that Jazz
Although Jazz GM Kevin O’Connor rushed in to say he is not trading Andrei Kirilenko — even if he could since he is paying him $15 million per year for four more seasons — perhaps that’s the move the Celtics make if all else fails. You would think the Jazz would take No. 5 and the expiring contracts. Or maybe the Bulls’ No. 9 and a P.J. Brown sign-and-trade.
After the playoffs, Kirilenko told Russian reporters he made “a critical mistake” early in the season. “I put up with my role on the team. Utah could have gone even farther if [coach] Jerry Sloan had offered me a helping hand.” Sloan weighed in as expected, saying, “I don’t see us changing everything we were for Andrei Kirilenko. He can blame it on whatever he wants. But all I can say is what I see on the floor.”
And there was always entertaining owner Larry Miller saying on local radio: “I’ll make clear that it’s not a fire sale, but if there were a situation that was better for Andrei and better for us, we definitely would consider it. He needs to grow up. Some of the stuff that’s coming out of his mouth reflects at least severe frustration and maybe brain fade. I think he thought the Iron Curtain was still up and it blocked electronic communication.”
Kirilenko later backed off, saying on the same Web site he doesn’t want to leave the Jazz and “I am not going to blame the head coach for my mistakes. Jerry Sloan did his job and brought positive results.” But where there’s smoke …
The Artest file
The Indianapolis Star caught up with a contrite Ron Artest, who is living outside Indianapolis when he isn’t doing community service as a sanitation worker in Sacramento, punishment for his domestic violence incident. “You respect the sanitation worker more,” Artest said of the experience. “Oh my goodness, some of the stuff that comes out in that garbage.”
Artest said he plans to retire to Indiana when his playing career is over and added that he “reacted a little too fast” in requesting a trade in December 2005. “If I hadn’t done that, I’d still be a Pacer now. I like playing for the Kings, but I wish I was still playing for Rick Carlisle.
“Nothing is going to go perfect in anybody’s career,” Artest said. “Certain guys in the league are mentally tough and always ready. But certain guys like me, because of how I grew up, I act out at times. Then you think about it and say, ‘Man, I wish I would have gone about that differently.’ When you grow up like I did, you think that every day, every second is a life-or-death situation, but it’s not so. I had no reason to complain. I had a career year under Carlisle. When I look back on it, it was just stupid. Your ego takes over you sometimes.”
Roster roulette
Could this year’s Finals have been their run? The Cavs have no draft picks. They traded their first-round pick to Boston for swingman Jiri Welsch, who is no longer in the league, and dealt their second-rounder to Orlando with forward/center Tony Battie for Anderson Varejao and Drew Gooden. They are over the salary cap and facing the luxury tax with Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic free agents. …
The Bulls are said to be shopping their No. 9 pick and Denver’s Marcus Camby is a possibility, with the Nuggets likely to cut payroll by making Camby available. The deal would have to include P.J. Brown in a sign-and-trade for one guaranteed season. … DePaul’s Wilson Chandler keeps skipping workouts, giving rise to rumors the Knicks have made him a guarantee. … Jazz assistant Tyrone Corbin, a DePaul product, is in the Seattle coaching derby.
Catching up
Marcus Fizer is signing in Israel with famed Maccabi Tel Aviv … Jason Terry’s personal chef pleaded guilty to bank fraud for stealing $52,800 from the Mavs’ guard. Something about making off with the bacon. … They all want back: Kenny Anderson is coaching in the CBA. … Tracy McGrady on Jeff Van Gundy’s TV work: “If he had the same personality on the sidelines and with the media like he has when he’s commentating, a lot more people would like him.” … Greg Ostertag, 34, told the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World he is contemplating a comeback. “First,” he said. “I have to try to get my fat butt in shape.”
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sasmith@tribune.com
