Today in Boston Celtics history: Olowokandi trade; Green, Brooks, Williams born
Today in Boston Celtics history, the team traded Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks, Justin Reed and two second round picks from the Celtics to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2006.
In exchange for all of the player contracts and draft picks sent by the Celtics, Boston received Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi, Dwayne Jones and a first-round pick. A relatively minor move in terms of the impact it had on the franchise in the short term, the trade would have been a brief mention in team history if not for the fact that it set the stage for the deal that would bring Ray Allen to the Seattle SuperSonics team a year later – and through it, set the stage for the construction of the team that won Banner 17.
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And that decision was cemented with the arrival of Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves via trade the following year.
Birthdays
It’s also the birthday of Sly Williams, born today in 1958 in New Haven, Connecticut. Playing collegiately for Rhode Island, Williams was taken 21st overall by the New York Knicks, for whom he played four seasons before joining the Atlanta Hawks for two more. He signed with the Celtics in 1985 and played only 6 games for the team before being released for personal reasons in December. He averaged 2.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game with Boston.
November 30, 2013; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States; Milwaukee Bucks guard OJ Mayo (00) pushes his way between Boston Celtics guard Gerald Wallace (45), guard MarShon Brooks (12) and guard Jordan Crawford (27) in the 4th quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Williams shares her birthday with MarShon Brooks, born today in 1989 in Long Branch, New Jersey. Drafted by the Providence Celtics with the 25th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, he was immediately dealt to the (then) New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets for JaJuan Johnson and draft picks. Brooks played two seasons with the Nets before being traded to Boston as part of the mega-deal that sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn in 2013. He played two seasons with the Celtics before being traded again to the Golden State Warriors.
May 21, 2017; Cleveland, Ohio, United States; Boston Celtics forward Gerald Green (30) passes during the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game three of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Finally, it is also the birthday of Gerald Green, born today in 1986 in Houston, Texas. Green was drafted by the Celts out of high school. Green was traded to the Timberwolves in exchange for Kevin Garnett in 2007, then played for the Wolves, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Nets, Indiana Pacers, Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat and Russia and overseas before returning to the Celtics in 2016. Green averaged 8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game with Boston.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics History: Olowokandi Trade; Green, Brooks and Williams are born
