The 72 hours leading up to the news conference -- the weekend whirlwind that stretched into Monday, then the early-morning hours Tuesday -- left Garnett feeling "like being in a Lamborghini doing 200 with your head stuck out the window."
But the smiles and joke-filled comments at the news conference belied the weeks of careful negotiations, constant cross-country calls, and convincing that resulted in the blockbuster trade. The final 72 hours may have been a whirlwind for Garnett, but the preceding six weeks were a study in the ups and downs, starts and stops of deal-making in the NBA. In recent days, league and team sources -- as well as people close to Garnett -- described the events leading to one of the biggest acquisitions in Celtics history.
Celtics executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge and Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale were bitterly disappointed they could not complete a deal before the June 28 draft, but a second round of talks started in early July.
And once discussions resumed, the trade progressed surprisingly smoothly, in large part because of conversations Garnett had with Ainge and close friends and family. In addition, when the deal was resurrected, Garnett was more mentally prepared to leave Minnesota than when the trade possibility first surfaced. His initial reluctance to go and stay long term in Boston was one of the few critical sticking points in negotiations.
During the last few weeks, Garnett's desire to play in Boston came to match the desire of the Celtics and Timberwolves to complete a deal.
"It's this simple: We had what they wanted [Theo Ratliff's expiring contract and Al Jefferson] and they had what we wanted [Garnett]," said Ainge. "That's why it never really died and we were able to work out a deal."
