Boston Celtics: 3 alternate realities had Cs not landed both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen

Ray Allen, part of the 2018 Naismith Hall of Fame class, and 2020 Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Garnett spent a pretty portion of their primes suiting up for the Boston Celtics. However, what might have happened to the franchise had they never dealt for the star-studded duo in the summer of 2007?

In the summer of 2007, the Boston Celtics became instant title favorites seemingly overnight when Danny Ainge struck gold on some savvy trades that thrust the franchise into championship contention for that upcoming season.

After finishing with the second-worst record in the NBA the season prior (24-58), the franchise looked to be on the brink of destruction. The C’s lone star Paul Pierce was growing tired of underwhelming seasons and early playoff exits and, in the midst of his prime, felt like his services were being wasted in New England.

With such a young nucleus of players, Boston was far from being considered a serious threat in the east. This fact eventually drove Pierce to the point to provide the front office with an ultimatum: unless the Celtics surrounded him with talented veterans to aid in his quest to win a championship, he would demand a trade from the franchise.

Fortunately for him, and Cs fans, the organization obliged. On draft night that June, the team struck a deal with the Seattle Supersonics to acquire sharp-shooting star Ray Allen to pair alongside Pierce.

Still hungry for more after this transaction, Boston struck gold once again that July and took part in a blockbuster deal to land Minnesota Timberwolves disgruntled star and 2004’s league MVP Kevin Garnett, thus forming a new iteration of a big-3 in Beantown.

After this, as we all know, the rest was history. The team went on to become the number one seed in the Eastern Conference (66-16), they reached the postseason for the first time in three years and, in the end, attained championship number 17 (their first chip since 1986).

Boston Celtics fans are truly grateful for how Danny Ainge managed to turn this team on the brink of explosion into champions with just a few suave maneuvers in just a few short months. However, it really makes you wonder: what would have happened if the stars didn’t align?

What if they didn’t end up persuading the Sonics to deal their revered All-Star? What if another team ended up enticing the T-Wolves with a better offer for KG? What could have happened had things turned out differently in the summer of 2007?

Today, we’ll discuss three alternate realities for the franchise had Boston not traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.