How Garnett Was Won

At the Boston Globe, Shira Springer has the inside scoop on the process that got Kevin Garnett from Minnesota into the #5 Celtics jersey and back to relevance again. Here is an excerpt:

But the smiles and joke-filled comments at the news conference belied the weeks of careful negotiations, constant cross-country calls, and convincing that resulted in the blockbuster trade. The final 72 hours may have been a whirlwind for Garnett, but the preceding six weeks were a study in the ups and downs, starts and stops of deal-making in the NBA. In recent days, league and team sources -- as well as people close to Garnett -- described the events leading to one of the biggest acquisitions in Celtics history.

The key factor was Garnett's change of heart about Boston, but in between the week leading up to the draft and the culmination of the trade last week came a whole slew of machinations. Springer does a good job of providing some insight into how the behind-the-scenes world of the NBA (and professional sports generally) operate when a major transactiopn is on the boards.