Today in Celtics history: Olowokandi/Szczerbiak trade, Gerald Green born

Today, January 26th is the eleventh anniversary of a trade that sent Ricky Davis,  Mark Blount, Marcus Banks, Justin Reed and two second round picks from the Boston Celtics to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In exchange, Boston received Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi and Dwayne Jones and a first-round draft pick. Relatively uneventful as far as impact on the organization, the trade would have been a footnote in team history, except for the fact that it set the stage for the trade which would bring Ray Allen - and through that move, Kevin Garnett - to Boston the following year.


Today is also the 31st anniversary of current (and former) Celtic Gerald Green. Green was drafted by the Celts directly out of high school (one of the last players to do so), falling further in the draft than expected, likely due to his decision to only grant workout to the top six teams in the draft. Green spent much of the season in the NBA D-League, only playing in 32 games and averaging 5.2 points his first season.

Oddly enough, the trade noted above would eventually pave the way for Green himself to be traded, with him, Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, and draft picks being sent to the Timberwolves in exchange for Garnett. Green would play for the Wolves and Houston Rockets the following season, being traded to the latter team in February. He also had a stint with the Dallas Mavericks before heading overseas to play with Russian and Chinese clubs until the 2011-12 season.


Gerald made a Los Angeles Lakers squad briefly in the lockout-shortened season, but was waived just weeks later, spending much of the year in the D-League before signing with the New Jersey Nets to finish the season. He signed with the Indiana Pacers in 2012, and then with the Phoenix Suns for two seasons afterwards before landing with the Miami Heat last season, having become something of a reliable veteran presence off the bench capable of exploding for double-digit scoring on a good night. This would eventually re-unite him with the Celtics last summer, bringing the unusual confluence of January 26th and the Celtics to a close. Happy Birthday, Gerald!



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Photo via insidehoops.com
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