Los Angeles Lakers Had A Handshake Agreement To Acquire Kevin Garnett, But Kevin McHale Was A Close Friend Of Danny Ainge And Decided To Trade Him To The Boston Celtics

Kevin Garnett is one of the most beloved superstars in NBA history. Although he was a mildly controversial figure and said some wild things now and then, his game and his passion made Garnett a fan favorite for most of his career. The Big Ticket came into the league straight out of high school, restarting a trend that would see Kobe Bryant and LeBron James also make the same jump. 

Despite his best efforts, the Timberwolves never managed to put a winning team around Garnett. And so, in 2007, he made the historic move to the Celtics in a trade that saw them put together the Big 3 and resulted in a championship. But the Celtics weren't the only team interested in Garnett. The Lakers were very close to landing him as a partner for Kobe Bryant, with Bleacher Report reporting on how it almost happened using quotes from all the parties involved. 

Phil Jackson: "When I realized that [Garnett] was available and wanted to leave Minnesota, I put a big push on (to acquire him)."

Glen Taylor: "L.A. really wanted him. Well, I didn't know if I wanted him in the West. I thought I was getting better players. I thought L.A could not give me the players that Boston did."

The Lakers offered a package built around multi-skilled forward Lamar Odom and 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum, a promising second-year player who would eventually become an All-Star. Odom had a history of flaky behavior, however, and Bynum was unproven.

Phil Jackson: Dr. [Jerry] Buss came to me and said, "I have a handshake agreement with Taylor, that he's going to come to L.A. But McHale hasn't concurred yet." So I said, "Well that's a good excuse." You always, as an owner, say, "I'll do this, but …" So I kept that hope out there, that he was gonna be a part of the Laker organization."

Glen Taylor: "Odom, I was a little afraid of. I thought Bynum was gonna be a star."

It seems that the Lakers came very close to acquiring Garnett after all, but Minnesota's VP of Basketball Operations at the time was none other than Celtics legend Kevin McHale. And this led to an interesting development. 

Kevin McHale And Danny Ainge's Close Friendship Reportedly Played A Part In Kevin Garnett Being Traded To The Boston Celtics

Danny Ainge was teammates with Kevin McHale in Boston in the 80s, both part of a dominant Celtics team led by Larry Bird. And during the Garnett saga, Ainge was the main man in Boston, with their relationship admittedly playing a key role in pushing the deal through. 

Danny Ainge, Celtics GM: "Because Kevin and I were such close friends, we had numerous conversations over the years [about Garnett]. We realized that Paul [Pierce] and KG would be a great combination. We thought that they really complemented each other well. So we discussed the possibility of Paul going to Minnesota or KG coming to Boston, like which way is the best way to do it."

Glen Taylor: "It became the Lakers, and it became Boston. And they both said, what does [Garnett] want to get paid? And I told them what he wants to get paid. I told them the kind of contract. And those two teams said they would do it."

On July 31, 2007, the Timberwolves sent Garnett to Boston, in exchange for Al Jefferson, four other players and two first-round picks. Many experts considered the Lakers' offer of Odom and Bynum to be the stronger package. The deal between Ainge and McHale, close friends and former Celtics teammates, stoked suspicion that McHale was acting more in the interests of his former franchise.

There is no way to reach a proper conclusion about whether McHale and Ainge were directly involved in making this happen, but their relationship played a part. The two robbed the NBA world of an opportunity to watch a duo of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, but it led to the Boston Celtics' Big 3. And considering that this team won just 1 title, and the Lakers won 2 in that era, everyone can say they came out of it happy.