The Boston Celtics made a few trades at the deadline on Thursday, getting big scored Jordan Crawford from the Washington Wizards. It was a relatively quiet trade considering the team was rumored to make a few blockbuster moves, most notably with veteran center Kevin Garnett. The Los Angeles Clippers were interested in a trade that would send Garnett to L.A., but in the end, Garnett denied the move, failing to waive his no-trade clause.
According to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, Clippers' guard Chris Paul reached out to Garnett prior to the trade deadline to measure his interest in playing for the team. Paul told Garnett that if he wanted to play for the Clippers then he would make it happen. Had Garnett accepted Paul's proposal, the Clippers would have sent DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe to Boston in the deal.
However, Garnett declined the offer and vowed to "retire a Celtic and be buried in green." The Celtics will now rely on aging veterans to attempt to get them to a championship in 2013.
Garnett and Paul Pierce are attempting to set the tone as veterans for the rest of the team. After Rajon Rondo went out for the season with an ACL injury, many wrote off the team from being championship contenders. They responded by winning seven straight games prior to the All-Star break, including wins against Miami, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver.
Garnett's road to a championship would have been much easier with the Clippers. The team is 39-18 and has the youth and skill pieces to win in 2013. But, Garnett proved his pride and loyalty for Boston by staying.
Boston is clearly not giving up on a season that seemed lost with Rondo out. Currently sitting at 28-26, getting Crawford will help the Celtics reload without Rondo. He is averaging 13.2 points per game in 26 minutes. He is shooting 41 percent from inside the paint which will give Boston much needed point guard help.
While it will be an uphill battle for the Celtics for the remainder of the season, keeping Garnett can prove fruitful in the end.
