Pistons would be unbeatable with KG

There has been a trade rumor circulating for some time now involving Kevin Garnett and the Detroit Pistons. The trade would send KG to the Pistons for Rasheed Wallace and Darko Milicic. Both the Pistons and the Timberwolves deny the trade rumors. The T-wolves recently stated that they would not trade KG under any circumstances. Joe Dumars also stated that he hadn’t discussed that trade with Minnesota. It’s safe to say that this trade won’t happen.

However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t talk about the trade. As much as both teams deny having interest in the trade, there’s no question in my mind that this trade would help both teams get to where they want to go. The T-wolves don’t have enough talent around KG to win the NBA title. Kevin McHale ruined the team by firing Flip Saunders and getting rid of Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell. Minnesota would easily be the second best team in the West this season with a decent shot at reaching the finals had McHale not sabotaged the franchise. Instead, the T-wolves need to build for the future and get something in exchange for KG. By trading KG, the T-wolves would probably go in the tank for the rest of the season and secure a lottery pick for the NBA draft. The T-wolves would be getting Rasheed Wallace, Darko Milicic and what should amount to a lottery pick for KG. The Pistons would likely have to throw in another player (possibly Dale Davis) to make the money work.

It’s obvious to me that the T-wolves would be doing a lot for the future of Minnesota basketball by making this trade. The Pistons side of the deal might seem unnecessary but a little perspective might shed some light on why the Pistons would be foolish to pass up on this trade if the offer ever came to fruition. The Pistons are playing superb basketball right now. Rasheed Wallace is a very good player. He’s unselfish and can play any style of ball on both ends of the court. However, there is no doubt that Kevin Garnett is a better basketball player. Rasheed Wallace is to Kevin Garnett as Paul Pierce is to Michael Jordan. Pierce is a very good player but he’s just not in the same league as MJ. The same can be said for comparing Rasheed to KG. The only thing that ‘Sheed can do better than KG is shoot the three. KG offsets that disadvantage by being a superior mid-range shooter. KG is also better in the post and a slightly better defender as well. So far, I’ve just talked about the skill advantages that KG has over Rasheed. One aspect that nobody seems to talk about is the fact that KG is two years younger. That alone should make this trade a no-brainer. Two years is a long time in the NBA. The Pistons would be an unstoppable force with KG in the lineup. As good as the Pistons are with Rasheed, they would be considerably better with KG and for a longer period of time.

I don’t mean to discount the importance of Darko. The Pistons took Darko over Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Both, and Kurt Hinrich. It would be nice if that pick realized its value. I think Darko could become a very good player. He has skill for a 20 year old big man. The thing about the NBA is that you have to give to get (unless you can work Danny Ainge into the deal). Giving up Darko would be hard but the addition of KG to the Pistons lineup would put the Pistons the odds on favorite to win the NBA title. There isn’t a team in the league that could compete with the Pistons with KG.

There is a lot made of chemistry in the NBA. Joe Dumars likes the Pistons team chemistry and doesn’t want to damage it in any way. I can understand that. Once you get chemistry, you want to bottle it up and never let it go. However, it’s not like the Pistons are perfect. They lost in the NBA finals last year and they came within a Dwyane Wade rib cage of losing to the Heat in the Conference Finals. Even when they won the NBA championship two years ago, they barely got by the Nets in the second round. This isn’t a team that’s good enough to waltz through the playoffs. This team can be improved and all avenues of improvement should be explored. I don’t envy Joe D’s position because he would take the blame if something went wrong but KG is not your everyday player. If you took a poll of NBA players and asked who the best player in the league was, you would probably get 50% to say Tim Duncan and 50% to say KG. He is on a different level than Wallace. I love what Sheed has brought to the team and it would be sad to see him go. But, we have to be realistic here. If you only have to give up one good player to get KG, you have to do it every time. The Pistons would be crazy not to. Thankfully, the Pistons are one of the elite teams in the NBA and will be contenders with or without a trade. Joe D has assembled a brilliant group of basketball players which I am extremely grateful for. I just wanted to put my two cents in that should the opportunity to acquire KG arise and the Pistons only have to give up one impact player, you have to pull the trigger.