In 2007, a trade that sent Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics drastically reshaped the NBA landscape. But had a previous trade not been vetoed by its team owner, Garnett might have found himself on a Western Conference contender: the Golden State Warriors.
Kevin Garnett was nearly traded to the Warriors in 2007, according to Chris Mullin
The former Warriors general manager said then-owner Chris Cohan vetoed a potential deal.
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
The Warriors orchestrated a three-team deal that would have sent Jason Richardson to Charlotte and other moving parts and draft picks to the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher.
In return, Golden State would have received a 30-year-old Garnett, fresh off a season where he averaged 22.4 points, a league-best 12.8 rebounds, nearly two blocks, and a steal per game.
“It was basically done,” then-Warriors general manager Chris Mullin told Bucher. “I was doing an extension with [agent] Andy Miller on Kevin Garnett’s deal. KG liked [Baron Davis] enough, and we had talked enough. He said, ‘Yo, I’ll do it.’”
That Warriors team was fresh off a playoff series upset over the Dallas Mavericks. Adding Garnett to team that already had Davis, Stephen Jackson, Matt Barnes, Monta Ellis, and Al Harrington in their primes would have boosted them to the West’s upper echelon.
Unfortunately, the Warriors’ owner at the time, Chris Cohan, declined to make the trade.
But they still traded Richardson for a power forward!
They even sent him to the same team. Instead of putting together a package for Garnett, Golden State shipped Richardson to Charlotte for rookie Brandan Wright.
The Warriors went on to win 48 games in 2007-08, six more than the season before, but would lose 11 of their last 19 to finish ninth in the Western Conference. Shipping out Richardson and not landing Garnett, according to Barnes, killed their mojo.
“We were making moves to get KG, and then we traded J-Rich for Brandan Wright,” said Barnes, according to Bleacher Report. “We won more games, but it just wasn’t the same anymore. It all shifted so quickly. The magic was gone.”
For the following four seasons, the Warriors would fail to reach 37 wins. The Celtics, on the other hand, made consecutive NBA Finals appearances, winning the championship in 2008.
And guess who won Finals MVP? Not Chris Cohan.
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