Would you trade Garnett BACK for Jefferson?

[Redz]

Big Al's missed more games in his career than KG (don't have any stats to back this up, but off the top of my head, I have to believe this is true)

[wdleehi]

Only if you are ready to see Pierce and Ray also traded.



It is going to happen eventually.  But not this season.  There is at least one more title run left in the tank.

[Jon]

In two years maybe, but not now.  And it's really a no-brainer.  There's no evidence to suggest that Jefferson could be the defensive presence that KG is, and without that, the C's aren't winning a championship.  Maybe he eventually gets his defensive intensity up to where KG's is, but by the time that happens, Pierce and Allen will be done, as will the C's title hopes. 

[Slugger]

Even if KG was injured for the rest of his career and could not play another game i wouldnt do it.

He brought us a championship.  Although the pieces were there around him, he is the reason we won it. 

out of respect for the great man, he would retire a Celtic regardless of injuries/trade proposals etc.

22 years people! 

I wouldnt care if it took us another 22 years, the fact is without him that 22 years could easily have been 30+ years (of this we'd never know of course).

Respect.

[Thruthelookingglass]

I'm sorry but this is an awful thread. It's like: "we used you, and now that you are injured and we are eliminated let's trade you back...". For me, it's like that. Remember what we've done without KG this year, the points per game scored against us and the whole identity of the team altered by his absence before thinking about "trading back Garnett"...

Well put.  It makes me queasy to think about trading anyone who has put in a real effort for us, tho that's why I'm a fan and not a GM.  To me, the Celtics franchise is not about just winning, it's about winning with some sort of style.  And that means not selling our aging stars into lousy situations. 

Do I want Al Jefferson on my team?  Hell Yeah!  But I'm not going to sit here and drool at the prospect of selling out KG to do it.

[Neurotic Guy]

For the many reasons previously mentioned, I wouldn't do it.  I also think Minny wouldn't do it as their team would still be a few years away even with KG.  That said, I think KG could bring back some great talent from a veteran team. Any decent veteran team would be salivating to get their hands on KG and the immediate title contention that would follow.  I am by no means suggesting that the C's should consider a KG trade -- but let's say PP and Ray retired tomorrow, it would be interesting to see what KG could bring.  And yes, I would not have a problem trading him if the C's were not looking like contenders over the next couple of years -- I think he'd want it no other way.

[nickagneta]

Even if KG was injured for the rest of his career and could not play another game i wouldnt do it.

He brought us a championship.  Although the pieces were there around him, he is the reason we won it. 

out of respect for the great man, he would retire a Celtic regardless of injuries/trade proposals etc.

22 years people! 

I wouldnt care if it took us another 22 years, the fact is without him that 22 years could easily have been 30+ years (of this we'd never know of course).

Respect.

Respect is a great thing but foolhardy business decisions are not great things. Unfortunately paying respect to KG the way you want is one of the reasons we went 22 years without a championship. If Bird, McHale and/or Parish had been traded when they had value, it's possible that the Celtics might have built a champion around Reggie Lewis.

So as much as I think it's not quite time to trade KG, I feel it might be best to trade him for value if it improves the club for the future.

[Who]

Nah -- this team has a couple more runs at a title and KG is the better player for those runs.

Although, I do disagree completely with the idea that this team isn't a contender with Big Al. I think they've already shown how far they can go without KG in the lineup, now add Big Al to that equation and they could have beaten anyone.

Still, they're clearly a better team with KG.

[sinbad]

I just remember that single moment when we won the title. There is nothing I would trade for that. No disrespect to Al but I wouldn't trade 10 all-star years from Al if it meant not winning a title. When someone mentions 07-08 25 years from now, it will always be remembered as the year KG came to Boston an won a title.

[QuinielaBox]

I would like to get Al Jefferson back some day in a Boston uniform, however, this is not the right circumstance. Now sign and trade Glen Davis while throwing in Bill Walker, Tony Allen, and JR Giddens and a future #1, DIFFERENT STORY!!!

How bout getting Ryan Gomes back while we are it 

[Gunner]

Could Jefferson play defense as well as Davis?

If the answer is yes, then Jefferson would have helped us this year.

Don't forget, Jefferson plays power forward for the Celtics not Center. Perkins starts at Center.

Perkins takes a lot of defensive pressure off of Jefferson.

Jefferson takes offensive pressure off of the Celtics.

Ray would have had OPEN jumpers in the playoffs if we had Jefferson. Why?

Every team in the NBA double or triple teams Jefferson, giving open shots to others.

So Jefferson's defensive liabilities are helped by great Celtics team defense and Perk playing the middle.

The Celtics offense is helped by the best low post offensive player in the NBA.

[BigAlTheFuture]

I don't think we can win a championship with Big Al to be honest. Maybe in the future. But he's just not as good as KG. Even in this point of their careers.

Big Al is the future, though.

[Redz]

Could Jefferson play defense as well as Davis?

If the answer is yes, then Jefferson would have helped us this year.

Don't forget, Jefferson plays power forward for the Celtics not Center. Perkins starts at Center.

Perkins takes a lot of defensive pressure off of Jefferson.

Jefferson takes offensive pressure off of the Celtics.

Ray would have had OPEN jumpers in the playoffs if we had Jefferson. Why?

Every team in the NBA double or triple teams Jefferson, giving open shots to others.

So Jefferson's defensive liabilities are helped by great Celtics team defense and Perk playing the middle.

The Celtics offense is helped by the best low post offensive player in the NBA.

This assumes he doesn't mess his knee up and can play.