Kevin Garnett has been enjoying life since retiring from the NBA. However his career nearly took a completely different turn in 2007.
Any diehard Wolves fan can tell you about the gloomy day when Garnett was traded to Boston in the middle of his prime. But did you know Minnesota was actually ready to send the Big Ticket to Golden State?
Chris Mullin (the Warriors general manager at the time) told Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher that a deal was basically done to send Garnett to Golden State.
“I was doing an extension with [agent] Andy Miller on Kevin Garnett’s deal,” said Mullin. KG liked [Baron Davis] enough, and we had talked enough. He said, ‘Yo, I’ll do it.'”
Golden State, Minnesota and Charlotte were in the midst of a three-team deal that would have sent Jason Richardson to Charlotte, and other moving parts and draft picks to Minnesota.
But at the 2007 NBA Draft, the deal fell a part as then-Warriors owner Chis Cohan “dragged his feet” and decided against the trade.
Golden State ended up acquiring Brandon Knight for Jason Richardson and former Warriors player Harrison Barnes said the move complete killed the mood in the locker room.
“We were making moves to get KG, and then we traded J-Rich for Brandan Wright,” said Barnes. “It all shifted so quickly. The magic was gone.”
Obviously the Warriors eventually drafted a few guys named Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, helping them win an NBA championship in 2015.
And it allowed the “Big three” era in Boston to happen – landing KG his only championship.
