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

The Boston Celtics trade Paul Pierce, embark on a full rebuild

This is the alternate reality no Boston Celtics fan should be content with and, yet, one that was right on the brink of happening.

The only reason why the Cs pushed so hard to bring on both Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett was because star Paul Pierce gave the franchise an ultimatum: improve the roster or set him free via trade.

Reportedly, it took major convincing from, then, Sonics General Manager Sam Presti, with him being quoted as saying “You don’t wake up one day and look to move a player like a Ray Allen,” and, obviously, took a king’s ransom and a few front office connections to acquire Kevin Garnett from the Timberwolves.

In short, if just a few things went a bit differently in both of those discussions, it’s very possible that neither of these players end up donning the green & white of Celtics threads. If this actually turned out to be a reality, there is almost a 100 percent chance that the Cs would have then granted Pierce’s other wish which, of course, was to be traded.

Over the years, the future Hall of Fame small forward shed light onto the situation that was occurring prior to 2007’s offseason transactions, and admitted how close he was to being dealt to the Dallas Mavericks.

"“When we didn’t get the first pick and I thought I would get traded, I told my agent I was trying to get to Dallas,” Pierce said. “I wanted to be in Dallas because I didn’t think the Celtics would want me anymore and they were going to rebuild. Dallas, I think, just lost in the (NBA Finals) to Miami a couple years before. They were like a perennial 50-game, 60-game contender. I just felt like I was that piece to help them get over the hump. … If you guys are going to trade me, Dallas would be a destination that hopefully, we can work something out.”"

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Dallas nearly landed Pierce in a three-way deal that would have sent 22-year-old forward Josh Smith to Boston.

Regardless of if it was with Dallas or another franchise, the fact remains: had Boston failed to land Allen and Garnett, it is obvious that there were a number of takers for the in his prime Paul Pierce.

Assuming they traded the forward away for a large return package of some young prospects and numerous future first-round picks to partner up with the likes of their most talented youngster at the time in Al Jefferson and second-year point guard Rajon Rondo, the team would have been in the midst of a major rebuild.

Of course, without trading for Allen and Garnett the Celtics would have kept their picks, which would have been incredibly valuable, especially in 2009 (traded the T-Wolves rights back to the team acquired via a 2006 deal) where they could have potentially nabbed the likes of a Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday and a few other notable talents… just an interesting thought.

Not acquiring these talents and trading away Pierce would have most likely seen the ouster of head coach Doc Rivers as well, for he was already on the hot seat after losing in round one of the playoffs during his first year with the franchise and, after this, missed the postseason altogether in the following two while accumulating an underwhelming record of 57-107 in that span.

Without the actual reality that was the mega-moves made during the summer of 2007, things could have turned out far more different than they did.

The team very likely wouldn’t have attained championship number 17 in 2007 (though, in alternate reality #2 they would certainly compete for it). They very easily could have been forced to trade a disgruntled Paul Pierce. And the current perception of the franchise would look completely different, and far less grand — believe me, despite winning just a single championship in the past 20 years it’s far better than saying “the Celtics haven’t won a championship in 34 years” which certainly was a real possibility had the summer of 2007 not been as successful.

Now, to sum it all up: after 2,401 words and copious cups of coffee, we have indefinitely come to the conclusion that the reality that was seems far superior to the realities that could have been.

At the end of the day, all we can really feel is grateful that the Boston Celtics were able to bring together the trio of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen to help attain the championship that now places the Cs above all others in terms of Larry O’Brien trophies accumulated.