Kevin Garnett has agreed to waive his no-trade clause, clinching an agreement on a trade that will land Paul Pierce Garnett and Jason Terry with the Brooklyn Nets, sources close to the process told ESPN The Magazine.
Garnett’s agreement to waive the no-trade clause was the last step to sealing the deal, sources said.
No trade between the teams can officially be consummated until July 10 — when a league-wide moratorium on signings and trades is lifted after free agency begins Monday. But the teams made fast progress on finalizing the trade parameters.
Brooklyn has agreed to send three first-round picks (2014, ’16 and ’18) along with Kris Humphries’ expiring contract, Gerald Wallace, Tornike Shengelia, Reggie Evans and a signed-and-traded Keith Bogans to the Celtics for Pierce, Garnett and Terry, sources said.
Yahoo! Sports reported the Nets have substituted Kris Joseph for Shengelia.
By agreeing to add Terry to the trade, sources said, Brooklyn alleviated some of Boston’s concerns about absorbing the remaining three years and $30 million on Wallace’s contract.
Because Pierce is making nearly $17 million this season, Brooklyn needs the deal to wait until after the start of free agency and the lifting of the moratorium on July 10, since the $15.3 million team option the Celtics had on their longtime captain is used in the trade.
Nets general manager Billy King laughed when asked about the agreement in principle, but when asked if he could say anything about it, King replied, “Nothing.”
King repeatedly said he would not comment on the agreement.
“Guys, honestly, I can’t go any further than this. Honestly, you can ask all the questions. Honestly, I can’t. At the time that it’s appropriate, I will address it if possible, but at this time, I can’t,” King said.
Sources told ESPN.com the Nets hatched the idea of trying to acquire both Boston stalwarts in the same deal because Pierce’s inclusion was seen as the surest way to persuade Garnett to waive his no-trade clause.
The addition of Garnett and Pierce to the trio of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez would appear to give the Nets one of the most formidable rosters in the NBA under rookie coach Jason Kidd.
Earlier this offseason, Boston denied the Nets permission to contact then-head coach Doc Rivers, who eventually left to coach the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I knew it come coming,” said Rivers of the blockbuster trade involving Garnett and Pierce. “Danny and I had talked about that over the last three or four weeks. I knew all this was going to happen. It’s obviously sad whenever an era or time ends and it has now. That’s the sad part.”
