July 31--NBA Legend Scottie Pippen talked with NBA.com about Tuesday's trade that brought Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics.

What This Does For Boston
I think it instantly gives this team some credibility because this is the worst this franchise has been, probably for the last 15 years. They had Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce there for quite a while and they never proved to be a very good group in terms of being able to challenge for an NBA title. Now they are a team that can definitely compete with the best in the East when you speak of Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit. They have definitely put themselves in the running. You just have to sit back if you’re a Boston fan and hope that things gel and this team is able to group together pretty quickly. There is no time to waste as far as getting off to a slow start. Detroit has proven that they can be a team that wins 60-plus games.

The Celtics “Big Three”
It is important to have that big three on a basketball team, but I can look back at the championships and a lot of guys that played huge roles – Kukoc, Dennis, Steve Kerr. Guys have to understand their roles. Speaking of the big three, I think all those guys are going to have something of a responsibility to have to carry it night in and night out for this team to be successful. It can’t totally be on a guy like Garnett. It can’t totally be on Pierce. It has to be a total group effort and I think they can succeed in that area. I think that Ray Allen proved to be a pretty good defender over his career as well as Garnett, but they have to dedicate themselves to both ends of the basketball court if they want this to be successful.

Garnett’s Playoff Motivation
I think it is possible for them to advance to The Finals. Kevin Garnett has proved in years past that he is capable of carrying a team on his back. He has to prove that he can do it in the postseason. It’s important for him now because he is getting a little bit older.

Minnesota Rebuilding Continues
If I am a Minnesota fan I really don’t like what has happened because I think their team has set itself back. But when you think of a guy like Garnett and the type of money that they were paying him, you have to be willing to go young if your franchise isn’t going to have any more success. So I think this was a good move from their franchise standpoint, but they are not going to be as happy as they were in years past because now they’re probably not going to be able to compete at any level. They are a pretty inexperienced team.