I was having a private discussion with someone about the validity of the fake "insiders" who troll RealGM forums. Long story short, none of them have actual insider information. That forum notoriously attracts trolls who make up plausible trade ideas and claim they heard them from "insiders" ... there's also dozens of twitter accounts who follow the same practice. The moderators of that forum seemingly allow it without vetting the "insiders" and nobody dares call out these "insiders", because they are afraid they'll leave and stop giving them juicy gossip.
Anyways, the discussion got pretty heated and it was suggested that I see a neurologist. The person I was talking to was adamant that a RealGM user knew about the KG trade before it happened and that was proof he had insider information despite the fact this particular "insider" hasn't correctly predicted anything of note in the decade since that KG trade. It was suggested that the KG trade happened "out of nowhere" and the fact this RealGM forum predicted it before it happened proved he has connections. Sadly, none of the pre-2008 RealGM forum posts are archived... so there's no way of seeing these actual magical predictions.
Here's what I'm wondering... Is my memory really that bad or were there KG trade rumors for a couple years prior to us finally getting him? I vividly remember being on forums like these and seeing KG as the ideal trade target for the Celtics for a couple years prior to us pulling off the miracle. He was the ultimate pipe dream... a top 5 superstar that was theoretically in a bad enough situation that someone would eventually pull off a trade for him. Sure, we dabbled in possibly getting Allen Iverson, but KG was the one everyone wanted. As far back as 2005, KG did this crying interview with John Thompson and it created an entire "Free KG" movement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef-f7EeDpYI Trade buzz started immediately. Hard to find archived articles, but I seem to remember as far back as 2005, there were articles about the Knicks trying to trade for him to reunite him with Marbury:
http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb/f7/espn-kevin-garnett-up-for-trade-early-trade-buzz-64364.html ... The caveat was that the Wolves wouldn't trade KG without his permission and KG was too loyal to leave.
I seem to remember during the 2006 draft, the Bulls were rumored to be trading for KG.
http://www.wissports.net/Playground/default.aspx?g=posts&t=412408.... And correct me if I'm wrong, but during Summer 2007, wasn't there tremendous buildup and rumors prior to the Celtics getting KG? He was rumored to be going to the Suns at one point for a package built around Amare. He was very very close to going to the Lakers according to numerous sources. Also, am I wrong, or didn't we try trading for KG for a trade built around the #5 pick, but he refused to waive his no-trade clause to join the CEltics? We then pulled an audible, traded the pick for Ray, convinced KG he could form a big-3 here, and were still able to put together a package for him without the pick?
Is my memory failing me on any of this? The idea that some realgm poster said, "hey guys I have inside info that the Celtics are about to trade for Kevin Garnett" and it was met with skepticism for how outlandish it was... so much so that when KG actually came to Boston it cemented that RealGM poster's reputation as an "insider".... seems ridiculous to me. Seems to me, it would have been very easy for someone to come up with a plausible trade KG trade idea during the Summer of 2007. It's akin to someone right now saying, "my sources tell me that the Celtics and the Kings have a handshake agreement to trade Cousins to the Celtics this Summer for the Brooklyn pick, Amir's waivable contract, and Olynyk, but it's contingent on whether the Kings make the playoffs this year and if Rondo decides to stay in Sacramento"... It's completely made up, but plausible... and if it happens, I could then use it as proof that I'm an insider.
Anyways... does anyone else remember coming up with KG trade ideas in the years prior to him coming here or did I imagine it?