MIAMI, FL – MAY 14: Paul Pierce #34 and Kevin Garnett #2 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on during Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on May 14, 2014 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
NBABy Matt Yoder on

On June 28 2013, the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics executed a blockbuster trade. The Celtics parted with two-thirds of their Big 3 that won an NBA championship and took the franchise to another Finals. At the time, the Nets were trying to make a bold push into the NBA’s elite and challenge LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Here was the breakdown of the deal:

Brooklyn received: Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry, D.J. White
Boston received: Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, Marshon Brooks, Kris Joseph, Keith Bogans, 2014 1st round pick, 2016 1st round pick, 2018 1st round pick, and the right to swap 2017 1st round picks

While none of those players were a king’s ransom that Boston got back from Brooklyn, it was all about those draft picks. And although Celtics fans have had to be patient, it has led to an unbelievable bounty of riches. For the Nets… not so much. Pierce lasted one year in Brooklyn before signing with the Wizards, Garnett made it through a season and a half before being traded to the T’Wolves. Their one run together in the 2013-2014 season resulted in a five game series defeat to the Heat in the conference semifinals. The next year the Nets lost in the first round of the playoffs as the #8 seed. The last two seasons, they’ve registered 41 combined wins.

The Nets went all-in for one season and then plummeted down the standings.  And to the genius of Danny Ainge, that fall also just so happens to coincide with when they traded their picks away to Boston. D’oh!

With those picks, Boston has added James Young in 2014 with the #17 pick, Jaylen Brown in 2016 with the #3 pick, and likely Markelle Fultz with the #1 pick this year. And then there’s next year’s first rounder as well, which is 99.999999% likely to be in the lottery once again.

Considering how little return the Nets got out of Pierce and Garnett and how the Celtics have built an incredible foundation of young players for the present and future, it’s turned out to be an incredibly lopsided deal. If it’s not the worst trade in NBA history, it’s certainly the most short-sighted.

So let’s recount some Freezing Cold Takes for how the Nets fleeced the Celtics back in 2013…

Yep, Celtics fans are really crying now with their team in the Conference Finals and being owners of the #1 pick in the draft…

Is it too late to get back on the bandwagon, Celtics fans?

Highway robbery! Crappy late first rounders!

https://twitter.com/adam_klug/status/350457302937116672

Finally, even Boston superfan Bill Simmons couldn’t see the bigger picture…

To be fair, here is Simmons’ explanation a day later…

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