HoopsHype on the Boston Celtics’2013 Nets trade as one of the most lopsided deals ever
The Boston Celtics trade that broke up the ball club’s 2008 title core by sending future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets Fans have long regarded the 2013 summer as one of the most inept in NBA history.
Garnett and Pierce were sent by the Celtics to Jason Terry, Garnett and DJ White, and a 2017 first-round draft pick was traded to the Nets for Keith Bogans. Kris Humphries, Kris Joseph and Kris Humphries. Three first round draft picks and two pick swaps, they also served as the now-common draft approach of rebuilding using some other team’s draft capital as well.
This was the main focus of a Hoops Hype. article We dive into some the most unfair trades in league-history.
“The one example in which we have of a team going through the entire cycle of acquiring multiple draft picks and seeing them through is Boston,” writes H/H’s Yossi Gozlan.
“In 2013, they acquired a package featuring three unprotected first-round picks and a pick swap from the Nets for a group of veterans mainly featuring Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.”
“This deal could be identified as the original ‘all-in’ trade involving multiple unprotected first-round picks in the modern era,” he adds.
“At the time, no such comparable trade involving that many future unprotected picks had been consummated since the implementation of the Stepien rule. The Nets arguably experienced the worst-case scenario in this deal having given up a 1st overall, 3rd overall (swapped for 27th overall), 8th overall, and 17th overall selections while only winning one playoff series.”
“The core quickly disappeared as the Nets decided to pivot to a rebuild and save money after making enormous luxury tax payments,” notes Gozlan.
“The Celtics had an embarrassment of riches not only from this deal but also from deconstructing their roster between 2013-2015,” he continues.
“They drafted Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown using picks from the Nets trade, which alone made the deal work out for them. Both could rebuild and still be competitive. Since drafting Brown and Tatum, the Celtics have made three Eastern Conference Finals appearances in five years, including one trip to the Finals.”
“They remain a heavy favorite to win the championship this season,” suggests the Hoops Hype cap expert.
After breaking the seal, the Stepien Rule was established to prevent future violations. Increasingly creative general managers across the league tried their hand at a similar deal with different results.
As tends to be the case in the NBA, even the best-intended means of protecting teams from themselves can be circumvented with enough creativity emanating from the brilliant minds in many of the league’s front offices.
However, as is the case in all fields, there have been costly missteps by clubs that have attempted to follow such a template. Gozlan points out in his article. article.
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