The Key to the KG Trade?

by Craigbwolf

On August 1, the Boston Celtics sent the Minnesota Timberwolves Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, two first-round draft picks, and cash considerations for Kevin Garnett. In this trade, Minnesota received four players under twenty-four years old, plus the draft picks, and Theo Ratliff, who's $11,666,666 contract will expire after this season.

This trade brings hope to both teams - Minnesota a chance to rebuild with promising, young players and Boston a chance to compete for a championship. Each player involved in this trade can be a major contributor for their team. In my opinion, Ryan Gomes may be the one to sway the winner of this trade one way or another.

Gomes is an undersized power forward, who is only twenty-four years old. He has a nose for the ball and excels at rebounding on the offensive end. He has quick hands and a great deal of strength. Being undersized, he gets in trouble when opponents post him up. Gomes scores plenty of points on hustle baskets. He has a quick release on his shot, but needs to improve his shot from mid-range and the perimeter. If he can improve his shot, then he will be able to stretch opposing defenses.

Gomes is a consistent player that would be beneficial to any team. He plays hard every night and plays at a high energy level. In Minnesota, he will be competing with Juwan Howard, Al Jefferson, and Craig Smith for minutes. With Howard on the decline and Jefferson the starters, Gomes could be the first reserve off the bench at the forward position. He should be able to provide the Timberwolves with the spark they will need as they look to rebuild.

Trading Gomes was surely difficult for Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics. Now with a depleted roster after the Garnett trade, Gomes would have been a perfect fit. Instead, the Celtics are very thin behind Garnett, with only Glen Davis, Kendrick Perkins, Scot Pollard, Leon Powe, and Brian Scalabrine. Gomes is more skilled than each one of these players, and he would have either competed for starting minutes or been the Celtics' sixth man.

The Celtics could hope to bring him back after this season when his $770,610 contract expires. Until then, Boston will struggle to find someone competent to play behind and next to Garnett.

Ea34Div-I Stud

418 days ago

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I like Ryan Gomes and think he's a good energy guy, but he's not close to being the key to this trade. He ranks behind Al Jefferson, the cap space created by Theo Ratliff's expiring contrcat and the two 1st rounders Minnesota received in the deal. Incidentally, the more I look at this deal, the more I think Minnesota did a pretty good job of getting value for KG.

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CraigbwolfSoccer Kid

418 days ago

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I'm not saying that he is better than Al Jefferson or potentially one of those two first round picks. I'm saying that he is the "key" to this trade. Consider if the Celtics still had Gomes, he would potentially be their starter (move KG to 5 and Gomes at 4) and definitely their sixth man. For Minnesota, Gomes could become one of the building blocks they rebuild around. On a championship team, Gomes is a key contributor - not a starter, but an important player. So no, he's not the best player the T'Wolves got, but he could end up being the "key" in this trade for both teams. If the Celtics don't win the championship - and that's the goal right - they may look back and say that Gomes was the missing piece to the puzzle.

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