Where the Celtics failed late last month, they now seem to be succeeding in prying 12-year vet and 2004 MVP Kevin Garnett from Minnesota. Pending the trade, Boston will have the formidable trio of Garnett, new pickup Ray Allen, and franchise stalwart Paul Pierce; they should become instant contenders to rival Detroit and Boston in a hapless East.
The Big Ticket had rejected the idea of playing for Boston before the team traded for sharpshooter Ray Allen. The summer now marks the abandonment of a long and unsuccessful youth movement, and consequently the end of Pierce's related frustration. Boston now enters serious luxury-tax territory: its stars will make a combined $58 million in 2007-08 alone. (More NBA stories.)