Kevin Garnett craned his long neck up at the Boston Celtics’ 16 championship banners above his new home court and saw that the last one was dated to 1986.
“’86, huh?” the 10-time NBA all-star said.
“Twenty-one years ago,” a reporter told him.
To which Garnett quickly replied: “21’s a good number.”
A good number to end the drought on, and any team needs some luck – whether it’s avoiding injuries or getting a key foul call – to win a title, but Boston needs a lot less of it now.
With the 6-foot-11 Garnett joining forward Paul Pierce and guard Ray Allen as the team’s new Big Three, the Celtics went from the team with the second worst record in the NBA to instant contenders in the mediocre Eastern Conference.
“I thought this is probably my best opportunity to win a ring,” Garnett said after being obtained Tuesday from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 7-for-1 deal – the most players traded for one player in NBA history. “It was a no-brainer.”
Minnesota, which missed the playoffs the past three seasons, adopted the Celtics’ now-abandoned policy of rebuilding with youth.
Of the five players the TimberWolves received, four – forwards Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes and Gerald Green and guard Sebastian Telfair – are 24 or younger. The fifth is 34-year-old center Theo Ratliff.
“We gave up a lot,” Celtics executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge said. “Too much? Time will tell.”
The Celtics also gave up their first-round draft pick in 2009, unless it is among the top three, and returned Minnesota’s conditional first-round draft pick obtained in January 2006 when they sent Ricky Davis to the Timberwolves for Wally Szczerbiak.
“I’m confident the (Minnesota) fans know that this is something we needed to do to get better in the long run,” Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said.
Spurs: San Antonio guard Tony Parker sprained his left ankle during practice with the French national team this week and is returning to the U.S.
The Spurs said Parker will begin rehabilitation after an exam Friday and will rejoin the French national team when he gets medical clearance.
Mavericks: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is siding with former Dallas player Roy Tarpley in his legal fight for reinstatement to the NBA, which banned him in 1995 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
Tarpley acknowledged that he is too old to make a comeback.
“Right now it’s about me getting my name back,” he said.
