Nets & Celtics Pull Off Blockbuster Trade

When the Boston Celtics won their last NBA Championship in 2007-08, they were powered by the big three of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Now the big three in Beantown is no more. Allen just won a championship with the Miami Heat, and now Garnett and Pierce are head to Brooklyn in a blockbuster trade.

The deal can't officially be announced until July 10th when the NBA moratorium on player transactions is waived. As of now the trade has been set in motion and looks like this. Brooklyn trades Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Reggie Evans, Keith Bogans and three first round picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018 to the Celtics. In exchange, the Nets will get Garnett, Pierce and Jason Terry. According to reports, Terry was included in this trade to aid the offsetting concerns Boston has about Wallace's hefty salary, and he gives the Nets a scoring punch coming off the bench. So with this trade in place, the Nets starting five will look like this: Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Brock Lopez, Pierce and Garnett.

Now when it comes to Pierce and Garnett, they are two future hall of famers when their careers are over. That fact I have no doubt. What I would be concerned about is their age. Pierce is 35 years old and will be set to make $15.3 Million next season, while last year he averaged 18.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists last year. With Garnett, he's 37 years old and will be making $24 million over the next two years. Last year he averaged 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds a game. Both guys are still very very good basketball players, there is no debating that fact. It is obvious that they aren't as good as they had been in their younger days, either one of them. During their careers, each guy has played over 1,000 games in the big league, Garnett has played 1,323 NBA games and averaged 19.1 points per game over that career. As for Pierce he has played 1,102 games and averaged 21.8 points per game during that 1,000 game career.

This move shakes up both teams in a big way. The Celtics prove they are going into a rebuilding mode, and it sort of became obvious when they let Doc Rivers go to the Clippers last week. With the Nets they are setting themselves up to become more of an established force in the Eastern Conference, and this coming a few months after the playoff birth and first round exit at the hands of the Bulls.

Both teams are going to come out of this trade better teams. Boston is getting younger, and will again be a contender in a few years. The Nets are getting better now and will be a stronger force and tougher opponent to play against next season.