Kevin Garnett Traded To Boston Celtics

On July 31, 2007, after weeks and weeks and weeks of speculation, after rumored trades with the Lakers, Suns, and Warriors fell to the wayside, the Minnesota Timberwolves trade Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics for Al Jefferson, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, and two first round draft picks. The Boston Celtics traded ten current and future players, essentially everyone but Paul Pierce, in order to acquire Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. It payed off though, as the threesome of Pierce, Allen, and Garnett was easily the best trio in the NBA.

The anticipation for the Celtics season was instant. In the span of one week, the Celtics' odds of winning the title went from 100-1 to 5-1. By opening day, Boston had sold out 94% of their home tickets for the season. And with the additions of James Posey, Eddie House, and P.J. Brown, the Celtics did not disappoint. They began the season 8-0 and never looked back, finishing with a league-best 66 wins.

Boston struggled to maintain their excellence in the postseason. Both their first and second round series with the Hawks and Cavaliers went seven games, and they even trailed in the third round to the Detroit Pistons. Ray Allen was atrocious the first two and half rounds of the playoffs, but he got it going late in the Conference Finals. He then played great in the NBA Finals, helping the Celtics beat the L.A. Lakers and win their first title in over two decades.

The Celtics' acquisition of a future Hall of Famer in Kevin Garnett was the best thing to happen to the NBA in a while. They were coming off a terrible season that included a horribly-rated Spurs-Cavaliers Finals and the revelation that one of their officials was fixing games. Getting the attention off of the negative, and back onto the glory of a Celtics-Lakers Finals, was just what the doctor ordered.

Pat Riley Gets Win 400

On March 9, 1988, Hall of Fame basketball coach and owner Pat Riley gets win number 400 while coaching. He was the fastest ever to 400, taking just 540 games to get to that mark, all of those wins came with the Los Angeles Lakers.

 

Pat Riley (center) coaching up the 1990 Los Angeles Lakers team.

Riley is widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time; Riley has served as the head coach of five championship teams and an assistant coach to another.

He was named NBA Coach of the Year three times (1989–90, 1992–93 and 1996–97, as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Heat, respectively). He was head coach of the NBA All-Star Game teams nine times: eight of the Western team (1982, 1983, 1985–1990, all as head coach of the Lakers) and once of the Eastern team (1993, as head coach of the Knicks). In 1996 he was named one of the 10 Greatest Coaches in the NBA history.

Pat Riley in 2007 with his Miami Heat NBA Finals ring.

Riley most recently won the 2012 NBA Championship with the Miami Heat as their team president. This made him the first (and so far only) NBA figure to win an NBA championship as a player, coach (both assistant and head), and executive. He received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award from the NBA Coaches Association on June 20, 2012.

Riley would finish his career with 1210 wins and only 694 losses, earning 171 playoff victories and 111 losses.

Riley has won many championships in his career as a player and as a coach including being on the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers Championship team, winning the 1980 NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant coach before moving over to head coach where he won five NBA titles with the Lakers in 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988 and then 2006 with the Miami Heat.

Since 2006 Riley has stepped over to the front office with the Miami Heat, and has tacked on two more NBA Finals championships behind his name with the team winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.