Today in Celtics history: the Nets trade, Silas, Olowokandi, Wallace born

Today, July 7th 2017 is the fourth anniversary of the trade which sent Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry and D.J. White from the Boston Celtics to the Brooklyn Nets along with a 2017 second-round pick in one of the most lopsided trades in modern league history.


The haul, which brought back Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks, Kris Joseph plus three future first round draft picks and the option to swap first round picks in the 2017 draft. The return for the Celtics has been extremely fruitful to date, with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum having been selected with two of the four picks controlled by Boston as a result of the deal, (James Young not working out), and a 2018 pick still owed from the Nets while trading back to select Tatum created yet more assets in the shape of either a Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, or Philadelphia 76ers first round pick likely to convey to the club in the next season or two. For a smile, watch Bill Simmons' initial reaction to the deal in the video below.



Today also happens to be the 74th birthday of former Celtic forward Paul Silas, who played for the team for four season between 1972 and 1976, logging an average 11.5 points, 12.3 boards and 2.7 assists per game with the Celts. Paul would win two rings in Boston (1974, 1976), and make the All-Star team twice with the club (1972, 1975). Afterward, he would go on to play with the Denver Nuggets and Seattle Supersonics before a long and successful coaching career after his playing days ended in 1980.



It's also the birthday of Mike "Red" Wallace, who would have been 99 years old today. Wallace was a member of the inaugural season of the Celtics (and BAA, precursor to the NBA) in the 1946-47 season. The guard, who played college ball for the University of Scranton, averaged 5.5 points and just under an assist per game with the club before moving on to play for the Toronto Huskies for his final season as a pro in the BAA/NBA. He would play another six years in other leagues, followed by a two decade coaching career ended only by his passing in 1977.



Finally, it's also the birthday of former number-one overall pick (in the 1998 NBA Draft) Michael Olowakandi, who joined Boston after being included in a trade with his former club (the Minnesota Timberwolves) late in the 2005-06 season, with Dwayne Jones, Wally Szczerbiak and a 2009 first round pick that would be used to select Johnny Flynn in exchange for Marcus Banks, Mark Blount, Ricky Davis, Justin Reed and a pair of second-round picks used to select Craig Smith and Nikola Pekovic. Olowakandi averaged an abysmal 2.1 points, 2.2 boards and .5 blocks per game over two seasons with the Celts, his last stop in the NBA in what is often cited as one of the biggest busts in league history.


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Image: USA Today
Video: (#1) nygbk3 ; (#2) Wilt Chamberlain Archive ; (#3) San4An
Data: Basketball-reference.com
Follow Justin at @justinquinnn




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