With Kevin Garnett once again a fixture in Minnesota sports thanks to a deadline trade that sent him from Brooklyn to Minnesota for Thaddeus Young (you can check out what I thought of the trade here) it’s time to look back at the players Minnesota received from the Celtics when they traded away Garnett eight years ago.
The Trade: Minnesota Acquires: Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, a 2009 first-round pick (Wayne Ellington) and a 2009 first-round pick (Johnny Flynn).
Boston Acquires: Kevin Garnett.
The Players:
Ryan Gomes
Combo forward Ryan Gomes would have some solid years in Minnesota after coming over in the trade. He averaged 12.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game during his tenure with the Timberwolves.
Minnesota traded him and Luke Babbitt to Portland for Martell Webster. Gomes was soon waived by the Blazers and caught on with the Clippers, where he spent two seasons, averaging 5.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest in a reduced role. He played five games with Kevin Durant’s team last year and has not appeared in an NBA game this season.
Gerald Green
Gerald Green bounced around after leaving Boston. He only spent 29 games with Minnesota before moving on to Houston. He also had stops in Dallas, New Jersey and Indiana before winding up with Phoenix where he currently fills the role of “bench scorer”. The former Celtic is averaging 14.1 points per contest since joining the Suns.
Since the Garnett trade, Green has been involved in trades for Kirk Snyder (Houston) and was dealt to Phoenix with Miles Plumlee and a future first-round draft pick for Luis Scola.
Al Jefferson
Possibly the most accomplished player on this list, Jefferson certainly had the scoring touch while he was in Minnesota. Big Al averaged 20.1 points per game as a Timberwolves player, including a career best 23.1 points per outing in 2008/2009. He was later dealt to Utah for Kosta Koufos and two future first-round picks (Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones were later selected).
Jefferson spent three seasons in Utah before departing via free agency for Charlotte where he has elevated the now-Hornets to playoff contender status.
Theo Ratliff
Theo Ratliff lasted only 10 games with Minnesota before being waived and signing with Detroit. Ratliff would later play for Philadelphia, San Antonio, Charlotte and the Lakers before playing his final NBA game in the 2010/2011 season.
He averaged 6.3 points per contest as a member of the Timberwolves.
Sebastian Telfair
After two seasons of receiving the lion’s share of starts in Minnesota, Telfair spent 2009/2010 with the Clippers and Cavaliers, before returning to the Twin Cities the next season.
“Bassy” Telfair has bounced around in the NBA, along with Boston and Minnesota, he’s suited up for Portland, Los Angeles (Clippers), Cleveland, Phoenix, Toronto and Kevin Durant’s team. He was Durant’s teammate up until November 26th of last year, but was waived.
For his career, Telfair averages 7.4 points per game, 3.5 assists per contest and 1.6 rebounds a game. He also commits 2.1 fouls per contest.
Wayne Ellington
Fun fact: Wayne Ellington has been involved in two salary-dump trades in his career. He was shipped, along with Josh Selby, Marreese Speights and a future first-round pick, to Cleveland for the considerably cheaper Jon Leuer.
Later on in his career, he’d be on the other side of the trade being acquired in exchange for a large salary. The Knicks acquired him from Dallas with Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin and two 2014 second-round draft pick (Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Cleanthony Early) for Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton.
He would eventually end up with the Lakers where he is averaging 9.6 points per contest in 52 appearances (27 starts).
Johnny Flynn
After a somewhat promising rookie campaign in which Flynn posted 13.5 points, 4.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game, he struggled to find consistent playing time.
The point guard only started eight games in his second season after starting 81 in his rookie year. He averaged 5.3 points per outing in his sophomore campaign and was out of Minnesota soon after that.
Flynn split his third season between the Rockets and Trail Blazers, and has been out of the NBA ever since. He signed a contract with Pistons in 2012 but was unable to make the team.
All stats courtesy of http://www.basketball-reference.com/ unless otherwise noted.
