Garnett deal more style than substance

The Celtics draft day deal for former Sonic Ray Allen put the team on the doorstep of the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference.

The July 31 deal for Kevin Garnett, which netted the Minnesota Timberwolves five players and two draft picks, puts Boston firmly into the playoffs, but not as high as some people would like you to believe.

Yes, TD Banknorth Garden will be sold out for the next fine years -- Garnett signed a three-year extension on top of the two years left on his deal that will keep him in Beantown through the 2011-12 season.
Y
es, the Celtics will be relevant for at least three of those five campaigns.

And, yes, the most storied franchise in the League, which hasn't raised a banner since "The Simpsons" was just a skit on "The Tracey Ullman Show," will be on opposing team's radars each time they play.

What they won't be, though, is legit title contenders.
The 31-year-old Garnett, 32-year-old Allen and Paul Pierce, 29, do make for an imposing trio. But what else is there after those three?

The Celtics acquired Garnett, a 10-time All-Star and the NBA MVP in 2004, from Minnesota in exchange for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, a 2009 first-round draft pick and a return of Minnesota's conditional first-round pick previously obtained in the Ricky Davis-Wally Sczerbiak swap.

The Timberwolves also receive cash considerations in the deal. The 2009 pick Boston is sending to Minnesota is top-three protected.

Let's see: five players and two draft picks, which will be in the 22-25 range, for one guy. That's the largest deal for one player in League history.

Here's Boston's depth chart after the trade:
PG: Rajon Rondo, Eddie House, Gabe Pruitt
SG: Ray Allen, Tony Allen
SF: Paul Pierce, James Posey
PF: Kevin Garnett, Brian Scalabrine, Leon Powe, Brandon Wallace
C: Kendrick Perkins, Scot Pollard, Glen Davis

No depth. The Big Three makes the squad more than just a blip on the NBA radar, but nothing more.

Of the five players traded away, one averaged 33 minutes a night (Jefferson), and Gomes put in 31 minutes a game. Green and Telfair got more than 20 minutes of burn each night, and Ratliff played for than 20 minutes in the two games he suited up for. Delonte West and Sczerbiak, who were sent to Seattle in the Allen deal, averaged 30 minutes a game between them.

You'd think this would help the squad, what with head coach Doc Rivers' inability to magane playing time for a group, but now they have another problem.

Their top two point guards are gone. Danny Ainge traded away a promising frontcourt player in Jefferson. And Boston will have to rely on Perkins and Pollard to provide something in the post.

Unless Boston brass has some more deals up their sleeves -- maybe bringing in Brevin Knight to play the role he played in Charlotte behind Ray Felton until Rondo can be let loose, and/or bringing in Chris Webber, or Anderson Varaejo -- this is just a deal to make headlines.

The two Atlantic Division squads that met in the first round of the '07 playoffs, Toronto and New Jersey, are the class of the Atlantic Division. Bosh is a young Garnett, the Raptors have depth in the post and two capable quarterbacks in T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon.

The Pistons and Bulls are deeper and light years ahead of Boston on defense.

Oh, and there are those two guys who aren't going anywhere for a while: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

That's six teams I put ahead of Boston in the East. The other East playoff team is Orlando.

At best, Boston could finish second in the East, but that could meet a date with New Jersey, Chicago or Detroit in the second round of the playoffs. And I can't see the Cs beating any of those three teams in a seven-game series.

I know big moves are the ones that garner the print and air time, but subtle tweaks bring home trophies.

So don't stitch that 17th banner just yet.