Look, there's nothing wrong with having a fine marquee player like Garnett around, however, he's also playing on a very good team but strangely enough, everyone is only in awe of him. I suspect that with let's say a Carlos Boozer around, PP and Ray Ray on the Jazz would also make them a great team if not another title contender.
Interesting thought exercise you bring up. Swap KG and Boozer on last season's teams, and what do you think happens?
Celtics: Rondo, Allen, Pierce, Boozer, Perkins
Jazz: Deron Williams/Brewer/Kirilenko/Garnett/Okur
My opinion: The Celtics would have still been perhaps a 55-win team, but they now have an average defense which hurts them in the postseason. Their offense isn't as fluid either, but based on individual talent they still could beat a lot of the East last year. The Pierce/Allen/Boozer trio I think would have similar impact to last year's Howard/Lewis/Turk trio, and I think that's about where the team would have finished: 2 - 3 seed, probably second-round of the playoffs or maybe even ECF, but a notch below the Pistons and probably couldn't beat last year's Cavs either.
The Jazz would have had an absurd defense. With KG/AK47/Brewer they have one of the most disruptive defensive trios around. All Williams and Okur would have to do is play solid position defense, and with all the help they received from their teammates the team should easily have the best defense in the NBA. On offense, Williams and KG would run pick-and-pop/roll to death, with Okur as the weakside shooter and AK/Brewer as slashers to cut off the ball. I think that team ends up as the #1 seed in the West last year, and likely takes out the Lakers in the WCF. And I'd have made them the favorites over whoever came out of the East, likely the Pistons. And considering that the situation would likely have resulted in KG putting up bigger numbers and Boozer worse numbers, KG may well have won last year's MVP as well.
:shrugs: Upon further review, I guess I think a KG/Boozer swap would have basically just reversed the fortunes of the Celtics and Jazz of last season.