The thing that everyone forgets in the KG deal is that the Celtics were the only team Minny would trade KG too. KG wouldn't sign an extension with any team that was losing and any team that KG would sign an extension to go to would have no shot of being a lottery team. So a number one draft pick was essentially meaningless from those teams.
What the Wolves needed was a draft pick that would be a sure fire lottery pick and only the Celtics could offer that because they had the Wolves #1 pick. If the Wolves trade Garnett, they are definitely in the lottery.
Add to that Al Jefferson who was and has been a very good player and the Wolves did alright in that deal.
For whatever it's worth, that pick we dealt back to Minnesota wasn't a lottery pick. Due to the protections on the pick, it eventually turned into a second rounder.
(I know some outlets list that #1 as the Johnny Flynn pick, but that's not accurate.)
That was the Boston pick maybe, the Wolves can't have a pick protected pick that was their own pick. Boston had Minny's 1st round pick that year they acquired in a Wally Szerbiak deal.
We had Minnesota's #1, but it had protections on it. Also, because of a previous trade Minnesota made with the Clippers (from the Marko Jaric trade) we couldn't get Minnesota's pick until two years after the Clippers got that pick.
Because of the protections, that #1 pick would have never vested. Instead, it was converted into a second rounder.
I don't know where you are getting that but,
"Boston's 2009 first-round draft pick (top 3 protected), and the 2009 first-round pick which Minnesota had traded to Boston in the Ricky Davis-Wally Szczerbiak trade of 2006."
Is from the NBA website. And that pick was used on Johnny Flynn.
With the 28th pick from Boston Minny selected Jonas Jerepko and they also had the 5th pick from Washington they used to select Ricky Rubio.
Not sure where you are getting your information, mine is from the NBA.
Minnesota's pick protected, we traded that protected pick back to them, so they no longer owed and kind of obligation. They picked Johnny Flynn with their own pick that year. It's not contradictory to what Roy has been saying (which is accurate).
Yeah, I'm not going to spend a lot of time arguing on something where I know I'm right.
Here are the details on that pick, from Celtics.com:
Aside from our own picks, the Celtics are likely entitled to receive a future first-round pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Due to a league rule prohibiting teams from ever placing themselves in a situation where two consecutive future first-round picks have been traded away, the Celtics cannot receive the first round pick the Timberwolves owe from the Ricky Davis/Wally Szczerbiak trade until two years after the Timberwolves send a pick to the Clippers (from the Sam Cassell/Marko Jaric trade). However, because the Clippers trade involved top 10 "protection," Minnesota only has to send the pick to the Clippers if the pick falls outside the top 10 picks in the draft. Therefore, in future years, Celtics fans should be rooting for Minnesota to win (when, of course, they're not playing against the Celtics) until the Timberwolves finish a season out of the bottom ten, and send their pick to the Clippers. Two years after this occurs, the Timberwolves will send their first-round pick to the Celtics, subject to some "protection" which decreases annually after the first year in which we could receive the pick.*
The situation is further complicated by a league rule that prevents any deals being made involving drafts more than 7 drafts into the future; as a result the Celtics cannot receive Minnesota's pick after the 2012 draft, since the Ricky/Wally trade was made before the 2006 draft. Therefore, if the Timberwolves do not send a pick to the Clippers by the end of the 2010 draft, the Celtics will be unable to receive the Timberwolves' first-round pick in 2012, and will instead receive a second-round pick in 2012.
* For those die-hard draft fans who want all the details, here's how the protection on this pick works: If the Timberwolves send a pick to the Clippers in 2007, we receive the Timberwolves' pick in 2009 if it falls outside of the top 14, in 2010 if it falls outside of the top 5, in 2011 if it falls outside of the top 3, or in 2012 unconditionally. If the Timberwolves send a pick to the Clippers in 2008, we receive the Timberwolves' pick in 2010 if it falls outside of the top 14, in 2011 if it falls outside of the top 5, or in 2012 unconditionally. If the Timberwolves send a pick to the Clippers in 2009, we receive the Timberwolves' pick in 2011 if it falls outside the top 14, or in 2012 unconditionally. Finally, if the Timberwolves send a pick to the Clippers in 2010, we receive the Timberwolves' pick in 2012 unconditionally.
http://www.nba.com/celtics/stats/inside-the-numbers/numbers042006.htmlThe Clippers didn't get the Twolves' pick until 2012 (which was traded to New Orleans in the CP3 deal, and became Austin Rivers).
Read the bolded part above: we would have ended up with a second rounder. The Celtics never, ever had the right to a lottery pick.