The Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics have agreed in principal to a trade that will shake-up the landscape of the Eastern Conference. The Nets will receive Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry, while the Celtics will receive Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks, Kirs Joseph and first-round picks in 2014, 2016, and 2018.
This shows that the Nets Owner, Mikhail Prokhorov and GM Billy King are in a ‘win now’ mode. KG is 37 years old, Paul Pierce is 35 years old, Jason Terry is 35 years old and Joe Johnson is 31 years old. Looking solely from the Knicks 2012-2013 season, age will definitely play a factor during the Nets post-season. All the above players have loads of mileage on their bodies and, no one can know what another year of an 82 game schedule will do to them. There is also the fact that KG is very loyal to Boston and Paul Pierce has played his whole career with the Celtics. That makes this trade all the more worrisome, and no one can be certain how motivated they will be to play in Brooklyn.
On the flip side, if KG and Pierce can stay healthy all season long, the Nets jump into instant Championship contenders. With Deron Williams running the point, Joe Johnson at shooting guard, Paul Pierce at the small forward, KG at the power forward and Brook Lopez at center, they truly have a scary starting five. Only time will tell if everyone will be healthy come May and June to make a deep playoff run. The Nets gave up 3 future first round picks, so anything less than a Championship would be considered a failure.
Justin Lerner: PureSportsNY