Post by Boston Celtics on Feb 19, 2010 4:00:10 GMT -5
It all started harmless enough. The Celtics finished their season 41-41. Leaving the arena a reporter asked the GM what his main priority was in the off season. His response was direct and simple "a center" he answered. So with the off season under way the Celtics came to an agreement with the Milwaukee Bucks, that would send Lamar Odom to Milwaukee in exchange for Greg Oden. Just a few days before trading opened Milwaukee had to back out of the deal due to other trades falling through. This left the Celtics scrambling to find a replacement. They discussed a few other deals but nothing happened. It was becoming clear that without a center of their own to trade back, they weren't going to get anything done. They had some brief discussions internally about trying to cut some cap and go for Rasheed Wallace in free agency. Just then came that man again. A possible 3 way deal with the LA Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, that would again essentially be Lamar Odom for Greg Oden. Around the same time as this deal came up, the Celtics sent a proposal to the Utah Jazz of Joe Johnson, Lamar Odom, and James Posey for Amare Stoudemire. The Utah GM expressed some interest, but not enough to pull the trigger on the deal. Then came the post that changed everything. The Utah GM stated in the shout box his interest in Greg Oden. Just like that, it all came together, and the trade was underway. It started with a 3 way deal involving Joe Johnson, Lamar Odom, James Posey from the Celtics, Kenyon Martin and Amare Stoudemire from Utah and Greg Oden from Milwaukee. This was still not quite enough to get a deal done. Something was still missing. Here is where Denver enters the picture, with there interest in LeBron. Denver was willing to part with Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose, but Utah still needed a replacement for LeBron. This is where another GM entered the picture. Lets call him the closer. Not the closer that can be seen on TNT at 8PM central time, but the one that closed out one of the biggest trades in Legends history. A 5 team 14 player trade were the Celtics dealt Joe Johnson, Lamar Odom, and James Posey for Amare Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas, and Brian Cook.