Blockbuster history bodes well for Celtics

[Tom Murphy]

By AL IANNAZZONE

ProBasketballNews.com

The Celtics are relevant again, thanks to two blockbuster trades for two future Hall of Fame players in which Boston didn't give up too much.



Historically, whenever a superstar or rising player is traded, his old team doesn't get back equal value or a fellow superstar and his new team gets an energetic, hungry player who just needed a change of scenery. 



Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are expected to give Boston more than that. They're expected to bring a championship right away or in the near future.



History is on Boston's side. 



Many greats who have been traded either have brought their new teams a championship in their first seasons, brought a title within a couple of years of their arrival or gotten the squads to the Finals in Year 1. And many of the players have won the MVP award.



As for the old teams, they go in the tank fast. So Minnesota could be in for many more lean years after getting back Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, two first-round picks for Garnett.



Here are some of those superstars either in their prime, before they blew up or at the end of their careers and what they did for their new teams, and how their old teams suffered:





BUCKS DEAL KAREEM



The trade: The Bucks sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley to the Lakers for Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Dave Meyers and Junior Bridgeman prior to the 75-76 season.



Impact on Los Angeles: The NBA's all-time leading scorer was the league MVP his first two seasons with the Lakers and helped them to eight Finals berths and five titles.



Impact on Milwaukee: Abdul-Jabbar led the Bucks to their only championship in 1971 and the Finals in 1974, earning league MVP both times. They haven't been back since.





WILT RETURNS TO PHILLY



The trade: The San Francisco (formerly Philadelphia) Warriors sent Philly native Wilt Chamberlain to the 76ers for Paul Neumann, Connie Dierking, Lee Shaffer and cash during the 1964-65 season.



Impact on Philly: Chamberlain won three straight MVP awards and led the Sixers to a then-record 68 wins and the NBA championship during the '66-67 campaign.



Impact on San Fran: Lost to Chamberlain's Sixers in that championship series.





WILT LEAVES PHILLY AGAIN



The trade: The Sixers dealt Chamberlain to the Lakers for Jerry Chambers, Archie Clark and Darrall Imhoff before the 1968-69 season.



Impact on L.A.: Chamberlain helped the Lakers to a then-record 69 wins, including a still-standing mark of 33 straight wins, and the NBA championship during the 1971-72 season. With Wilt, the Lakers went to the Finals four times in five years.



Impact on Philly: Didn't win a playoff series until 1977.





MAKING A HOUSE CALL



The trade: The Nets sent Julius Erving to the Sixers for cash before the 1976-77 season.



Impact on Philly: Dr. J led the Sixers to the Finals in that first year and four times in seven seasons, winning it all in 1983.



Impact on the Nets: They didn't win a playoff series or game until beating defending-champion Philadelphia and Erving, who led the Nets to two ABA titles, in 1984.





MOSES THE PHILLY PROPHET



The trade: The Rockets sent Moses Malone to the 76ers for Caldwell Jones and a No. 1 pick in 1982.



Impact on Philadelphia: Malone won the regular-season and Finals MVP. He predicted the playoffs would be "Fo. Fo. Fo." The Sixers won the '83 title in "Fo. Fo. Fo."



Impact on Houston: The Rockets won 14 games in 1983 and 29 the next year.





BIG O IN BIG M



The trade: Oscar Robertson went from the Cincinnati Royals to Milwaukee for Flynn Robinson and Charlie Paulk after the 1969-70 season.



Impact on Milwaukee: Teamed with Abdul-Jabbar to win the Bucks only title in first season in Milwaukee.



Impact on Cincinnati: Averaged 33 wins the next four seasons.





PEARL A GEM IN NEW YORK



The trade: Baltimore sent Earl "The Pearl" Monroe to the Knicks for Dave Stallworth, Mike Riordan and cash early on in the 1971-72 season.



Impact on New York: The Knicks made the Finals in '72 and '73, winning it all in '73.



Impact on Baltimore: After reaching the Finals in Monroe's last full season there, Baltimore wins 38 games in '71-72.





BIG TWO TO BOSTON



The trade: Golden State sent Robert Parish and a No. 1 pick, who became Kevin McHale, to Boston for two No. 1s before the '80-81 season.



Impact on Boston: The Celtics acquired two thirds of the greatest frontline of all time. The trio, with Larry Bird, went to five Finals and won three rings in seven years.



Impact on Golden State: Averaged 34 wins over the next six years.





SOUTH BEACH SHAQ



The trade: The Lakers sent Shaquille O'Neal to the Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and two draft picks in the summer of 2004.



Impact on Miami: Shaq helps the Heat to the conference finals in Year 1 and the NBA title the next year.



Impact on Los Angeles: Kobe Bryant hasn't led the Lakers to a playoff series win without Shaq, who led them to three consecutive titles and four Finals in five years.





SIR CHARLES THE PRODIGAL SUN



The trade: The Sixers sent Charles Barkley to Phoenix before the 1992-93 season for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang.



Impact on Phoenix: Barkley won the MVP and reached his only Finals in his first season in Phoenix, the first of three straight years of at least 56 wins.



Impact on Philadelphia: The Sixers averaged 24 wins over the next six years.





KIDD SAVES NETS



The trade: The Suns send Jason Kidd and Chris Dudley to the Nets for Stephon Marbury, Johnny Newman and Soumaila Samake before the 2001-02 season.



Impact on New Jersey: Kidd is robbed of the MVP award after leading the Nets to 52 wins, their first Atlantic Division title and the NBA Finals in his first year there. In Year 2, Kidd carries them back to the Finals.



Impact on Phoenix: Suns miss the playoffs two of the next three years, but thanks to a trade with New York involving Marbury and Penny Hardaway, they clear enough cap room to sign Steve Nash.





CLYDE GLIDES TO HOUSTON



The trade: Portland shipped Clyde Drexler and Tracy Murray to the Rockets for Otis Thorpe, Marcelo Nicola and a first-round pick in February 1995.



Impact on Houston: Drexler helps Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets win their second-straight title.



Impact on Portland: Lost in the first round the next three years and five straight postseasons overall.





SONIC BOOM FELT IN NEW YORK



The trade: In a four-team trade, Patrick Ewing went to Seattle and the Knicks got back Glen Rice, Travis Knight and Luc Longley in 2000.



Impact on Seattle: The Sonics missed the playoffs in Ewing's only season in Seattle.



Impact on New York: The Knicks have won two playoff games, in two postseason appearances, since losing their franchise player.



Al Iannazzone covers the New Jersey Nets and the NBA for The Record

(Bergen County, N.J.) and is a regular contributor to ProBasketballNews.com.