Kevin Garnett spent 6 glorious seasons of his storied career in Boston. He had such a tremendous impact on the team and this city, that it’s hard to imagine life without KG. But if you flashback to the summer of 2007, you’ll remember the odds were stacked against us in the KG sweepstakes. Fortunately for Celtics fans, the moon and stars aligned perfectly. And one of those stars was Shawn Marion. Dan Le Batard explains:
Miami’s Big 3 would have never gotten together if Shawn Marion, of all people, had gotten what he wanted. Marion was so stubborn about wanting a max contract back in 2007 that his insistence helped blow up a three-team deal that could have sent Kevin Garnett from Minnesota to Phoenix. That deal would have prevented Garnett from ever teaming up with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to win a championship in Boston. But Marion wouldn’t re-sign with a trading team that wasn’t offering the max, so he was instead sent to Miami for a disgruntled Shaquille O’Neal. Miami offered Marion a four-year contract that would have also kept Miami’s Big 3 from uniting, but not at the max. So Marion asked to be traded … and had to settle in Dallas for a five-year, $39 million deal that was far less than the max.
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