Kevin Garnett was close to being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in February, but the Celtics big man exercised his no-trade clause to keep him in Boston. This version of events has been repeated so many times, it has essentially been accepted as truth among many fans and sportswriters.
In a clearing-the-air column in the Boston Herald on Thursday, Celtics beat writer Steve Bulpett straightened out a number of myths from this season. One of those myths is the assumption about Garnett’s trade-deadline power play, which Bulpett writes was never close to happening.
“The truth of the matter is that it never got to the point where KG was asked to vote, or even declare his party affiliation,” Bulpett writes. “There was, as reported here, some measure of discord within the Clippers organization on the issue. According to multiple sources, coach Vinny Del Negro was in favor of the trade, believing it would give the club the best chance to win this season.”
While Del Negro wanted to see the deal get done, the rest of the organization reportedly was so strongly against it that the trade was never brought to the point that Garnett would have needed to nix it. The Celtics’ failure to make a major move at the deadline can be blamed on a few factors, but Garnett’s refusal to budge on his no-trade clause is not one of them.
