After several hours of going back-and-forth on draft night last month, Nets general manager Billy King and his counterpart in Boston, Danny Ainge, had come to an agreement on the blockbuster trade to send Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry to Brooklyn.
That only left one thing to be decided: whether or not Garnett would decide to waive his no-trade clause and make the move a reality. So why, ultimately, did Garnett chose to leave Boston for Brooklyn?
“Being able to build something,” he said after Thursday’s press conference at Barclays Center. “The bones of this, to be able to play with Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson … I feel like this was one of the better opportunities I’ve had since I’ve been in the league.”
But for Garnett, who is famously loyal, it took some convincing to get him to come around to the idea initially. Both Deron Williams and Jason Kidd put in recruiting calls to Garnett on draft night, but the most persuasive argument may have come from Pierce.
“I talked to Jason Kidd, and he was warming me to the [possibility] of coming to Brooklyn,” Pierce said. “Then he started warming me to the fact that they were trying to get Kevin, too. That’s when I called Kevin and asked what he thought about coming to Brooklyn.
“Kevin immediately started asking about, ‘What pieces are they going to give up? What’s going to be left? Will it be possible to win a championship?’ He was excited when I talked to him, just for the opportunity to win a championship and play next to a young prospect like Brook Lopez, who he could take to the next level.”
Garnett even admitted that he at one point considered retirement as a potential option. But, in the end, a chance to saddle up with Pierce one more time with a talented roster surrounding them to chase a second championship was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
“I don’t like change much,” Garnett said. “Once I commit to something, I like to go full throttle. It’s unfortunate … but when I saw the Doc Rivers situation [unfold], I kind of knew the writing was on the wall.
“I have my connections there. It was tough leaving [Rajon] Rondo and other things. But, like I said, it’s a new chapter, new things to embrace. That’s what I’m doing.”
tbontemps@nypost.com