One Missed Trade: An NBA TL

OriiGiins

Chapter Twelve: Offseason, Struggles, and Luck
The first matter of business during the offseason was to determine how to deal with Ron Artest. His indefinite suspension was reduced to season long, and it wasn’t to anyone’s surprise that the Celtics placed him upon the trading block. Eventually, the Celtics settled for a 2003 second round pick in exchange for Artest, as the Los Angeles Clippers wanted any attempt to make their franchise relevant again.

In the 2002 Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers would end up with the first overall pick and they’d take Yao Ming with the pick, while the Celtics would draft Small Forward Qyntel Woods with the 20th overall pick, a man who would be out of the league in a handful of years, and Power Forward Lonny Baxter with the 43rd overall pick.

The team was ready to put the 2001-2002 season behind them, the Union Brawl behind them, and ready to make the league and country remember them for their on court play.

However, injuries would once again rear its ugly head. Tim Duncan would suffer a knee contusion in November that would bother him all year, Tyronn Lue would break his ankle, Jermaine O’Neal would also injure his arm in January. All in all, the changing roster and injured key pieces would see the Celtics only win 31 games, far from the playoffs.

Kobe tried his best to drag the roster into the playoffs, aiming for even the eighth seed, having numbers of 24.5 PPG and 6.3 APG, but it wasn’t close enough. The Philadelphia 76ers would repeat as champions, finishing off the Tracey McGrady led Spurs in 6 games, as Dirk Nowitzki would surprisingly be named Finals MVP.

The Boston Celtics would be one of the teams in the league’s lottery, even with slim odds, they were still odds.

Enter the Blackball lottery.

The nickname given to the 2003 draft lottery by fans. The Miami Heat would fall into the first overall pick, a lock for high school sensation Lebron James. The Los Angeles Lakers also suffered from injuries, including Shaq’s torn acl, saw them only win 35 games but still get the second overall pick. Then the third overall pick came into the laps of the Boston Celtics.

“I remember talk around the team was Melo, Darko and Chris. But Tim and Marko couldn’t gel at all in workouts, but Chris and Tim was a dream, so if Melo went to the Lakers, Bosh was our guy.” Kobe remembers the 2003 draft time.

The Miami Heat surprised no one taking Lebron James. The Los Angeles Lakers would pick Carmelo Anthony, their ideal replacement for Grant Hill who was getting up in age and number of injuries. The Boston Celtics would end up with Chris Bosh, making their frontcourt a terrifying duo of Tim Duncan and Chris Bosh. The Detroit Pistons unfortunately select Darko Milicic and Dwyane Wade would round out the top five to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Willie Green would be picked up with the Clippers pick in the second round and James Jones was picked with their own second round pick.

Kobe and the Celtics were ready to get themselves back into the elite teams of the league after the previous three years of heartbreak and troublesome.
 
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SavoyTruffle

SavoyTruffle

Thanks. I misread the post.

So no uber Timmy and Kobe in 03 unlike in OTL. Hope 2004's far better for them.

Also, who's coaching? Still Doc?
 

OriiGiins

I realized it did read a little weird so edited to make more sense and Doc still remains through the troubling seasons as the NBA Finals appearance buys him leeway.
 

OriiGiins

Chapter Thirteen: The Rematch
The 2003-2004 Season was a chance for the Boston Celtics to become an elite team once again. The play started with Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, and they would lead by example.

Kobe would open the season with a four game span of 43, 32, 40, and 31. It was too early for MVP talks, but it didn’t stop the idea of Kobe snagging his first from happening. However, as time went on, Kobe began to play team ball, as Duncan and rookie Chris Bosh would boost his assist numbers, as they’d feed on points in the paint.

The emergence of a possible MVP Kobe Bryant finishing with 26.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 6.5 APG, but he’d finish second behind Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Tim Duncan and Chris Bosh was a nightmare in the paint, as Bosh would finish fourth in Rookie of the year voting, and the Celtics roleplayers and bench would do their jobs and the Celtics would finish with the first seed with a 60-22 record.

Round one saw the Celtics sweep the young Cleveland Cavaliers in four games, Yao Ming providing trouble on the defensive end, but the Celtics would manage to use everyone to win every game. Next up was the Miami Heat. The first ever showdown in the postseason between Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. The Heat would take Game one, as the Celtics respond with a Game Two performance of 40 points from Kobe. Games Three and Four went to the Celtics as Lebron James would make the Heat survive another day in Game Five with a 27, 10 and 5 game. However, game six was a blowout and the Celtics would win the series 4-2 to meet the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Detroit was arguably the best defensive team in the league would provide a tough task for the Celtics to get back to the NBA Finals. The first two games went to the Pistons, as their defense would confuse Kobe who shot 6-13 and 5-16 in both games. With the Pistons effectively taking Kobe out of the equation, the Celtics would look to Duncan to lead the team. Lead he’d do. Games Three and Four would see him post 32 and 11 rebounds and Game Four would see two blocks on Ben Wallace to preserve a one point victory. Game Five saw the Celtics use their three point shooting to win with 12 points, shooting 17-34 from behind the arc. Game Six would be a Pistons win, as Ben Wallace would record seven blocks.

One game would determine who would go onto meet the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Enter a very risky maneuver by Coach Doc Rivers. Starting Chris Anderson in the Center position, moving Bosh to Small Forward, his task would get Ben Wallace to the free throw line. The famous Hack-A-Shaq tactic, but instead on Wallace who was shooting only 39% from the line in the series. Kobe Bryant would also emerge as his best game of the series, finishing with 28 points. The Celtics would win by only eight and they’d move onto the NBA Finals, for a rematch against the Lakers.

This time around, they had to go up against Shaquille O’Neal, Manu Ginobili, rookie sensation Carmelo Anthony, and veterans looking to win their first ring in Karl Marlone and Gary Payton. However, Marlone would be dealing with leg injuries all year long and Payton looked way past his prime. Not to mention Grant Hill would be out of the series after injuring his knee against the Timberwolves.

Game One would go to the Lakers, as Carmelo Anthony would introduce himself to the world by hitting two dagger jump shots to win the game. Game Two would go to the Celtics, thanks to Tim Duncan’s play, 24 points and 11 rebounds. The series would be tied 1-1 going back to Los Angeles.

Game Three would go to the Celtics again, this time as Kobe Bryant would be the hero, hitting five threes, four of them being in the second half. Game Four would see the series be tied back up 2-2, this time around Karl Marlone would hit two free throws in crunch time to get the win, only finishing with eight points, but seeming to redeem himself from the famous “Mailman doesn’t deliver on Sundays” incident against the Bulls in the 90s.

Game Five would go back to Boston, and the Celtics would preserve their home court advantage, nothing as dramatic as the other games, but with a 17 point victory. A 3-2 series lead going back to Los Angeles. The Celtics were one game away from winning yet another NBA Championship, while Kobe was one away from winning his first.

“Either we were winning Game Six or I’d die.” Kobe on what inspired his famous game.

“Always the dramatic.” Duncan would laugh at the statement.

Game Six saw Kobe Bryant post 33 points, on 13-17 shooting. However, it was still a game with 26.7 seconds left, one defensive stop and the Celtics would win the title. The ball would go to Shaq, but a double team from Duncan and Bosh would make him kick it out to Carmelo. Instead of looking for another open player, or getting a better shot, he’d put the shot up as soon as he got the ball and it’d go off the backboard and into the hands of Tim Duncan.

The Boston Celtics win the series 4-2, capturing their first title in the new century, and allowing Kobe and Duncan to capture their first titles as well. Kobe would be named Finals MVP, most part due to his Game Six performance.

“I think that title saved our relationship. We weren’t in a huge feud something like you saw with Shaq and Melo. But I was just tired of being Kobe’s second fiddle. On the court, I was fine with being option number two. But being number two to Kobe everywhere, especially with his personality was just tiring. My contract was up in 2006, and I was heavily considering leaving. But that title showed me that even if I have to deal with his shenanigans more often than I’d like too, we could get it done.”

Notes:
Quick update as this was a fun one to write, Always was going to have Kobe/Celtics’ first ring to be over Shaq and the Lakers, so the rematch worked. Enjoyed as always.
 
SavoyTruffle

SavoyTruffle

OriiGiins said:
“I think that title saved our relationship. We weren’t in a huge feud something like you saw with Shaq and Melo. But I was just tired of being Kobe’s second fiddle. On the court, I was fine with being option number two. But being number two to Kobe everywhere, especially with his personality was just tiring. My contract was up in 2006, and I was heavily considering leaving. But that title showed me that even if I have to deal with his shenanigans more often than I’d like too, we could get it done.”
Click to expand...

I could see how even the unflappable Tim Duncan would get tired of Kobe.
 

OriiGiins

Chapter Fourteen: League MVP and Repeat
The off-season didn’t see much change for the newly crowned NBA Champions. They resigned Chris Anderson, Jermaine O’Neal and picked up Derek Fisher from the Los Angeles Lakers to replace Tyronn Lue who signed with the Miami Heat.

The draft didn’t see any splashes for the Celtics, picking Jackson Vroman with the thirty overall pick and Luis Flores with the fifty third. The rest of the draft saw the Los Angeles Clippers take Dwight Howard with the first overall pick, and Andre Iguodala go to the Phoenix Suns with the seventh overall pick.

The regular season was Kobe Bryant’s. His shooting turned even deadlier and his overall rounded team gave him amazing assist numbers. In the month of December, he’d have a stretch of 42, 37, 44, 50 and 32. The end of the regular season saw the Celtics finish with a 65-17 record, easily enough for the first seed while Kobe would capture his first League MVP award with 29.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 5.6 APG.

The New Jersey Nets and Washington Wizards stood no chance in the first two rounds, as Boston would sweep both of them. This set up a match with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, another showdown between Kobe Bryant and Lebron James.

The first two games would go to the Celtics, as another sweep looked on hand for them, but Lebron James would post 34 and 31 to match Kobe’s 30 and 27 in Games Three and Four to tie the series back up at 2-2.

Game Five saw a cold shooting night from Kobe at 5-17, however Tim Duncan and Chris Bosh would pick up the scraps, abusing Lamar Odom in the paint to both finish with 26 points each, and lead the Celtics to one game away from a second straight NBA Finals appearance.

Game Six would be a blowout in favor of the Celtics. Kobe Bryant would make up for his poor game five with a shooting performance of 11-17, finishing with 28 points. Chris Bosh would finish with a double double at 22 and 11 and Chris Anderson would play his best game yet in the league with 18 points and 6 blocks. The Boston Celtics would once again take care of Lebron James and the Heat in six games, and once again make it to the NBA Finals.

There awaited a surprise in the Minnesota Timberwolves. The fifth seeded team would beat the Dallas Mavericks in six, upset the Phoenix Suns in seven, and survive a battle against the San Antonio Spurs in seven to reach their first ever Finals.

However, as much as Kevin Garnett tried, they stood no chance against Boston. The team was tired from playing twenty games, and they were simply just outmatched. Games One and Two would be 20+ blowouts, Game Three would be closer, but a miss from Garnett that rolled off the rim and into Kobe’s hands sealed the deal, and Game Four would be only an 11 point victory, but it still wasn’t close for Minnesota as the Celtics would finish with a 16-2 postseason, and Kobe would capture his second straight Finals MVP award.
 

OriiGiins

Chapter Fifteen: Roadblock and The Return
Once again, the following offseason after a Championship didn’t see much change for the Boston Celtics. Their draft picks would be used for Ian Mahinmi, a Center that’d be on the team for three seasons and Dijon Thompson.

The regular season wouldn’t be as dominant and exciting as the previous, the Celtics finishing with the third seed with a 51-31 record behind the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat.

Round One would see the sixth seeded Cleveland Cavaliers give the Celtics a proper scare by winning the first two games at Boston. However, Kobe would be Kobe by finishing with 31, 27, a near triple double and 36, to win the series 4-2 with four straight wins.

Round Two would see another matchup with the Detroit Pistons. After missing the Finals the previous two years being the best defensive team in the East. In the off-season, they’d take a gamble by signing former Celtic and controversial figure Ron Artest. He was still an amazing force on defense, and they’d hoping he’d be the missing piece instead of a massive blowup in their face.

He’d do just that. Game Six saw the Pistons be up 3-2 and Artest would record a statline of 18 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks and 4 steals. The Celtics would be eliminated in six, and the Pistons would go onto win the NBA Finals over the Dallas Mavericks in six games, as Ben Wallace was named Finals MVP.

The 2006 offseason saw Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan receive five year extensions. The draft would see the Celtics select Kyle Lowry with the twenty-second overall pick, trying to fill their weak position of Point Guard.

Meanwhile, the rest of the off-season was hectic for the rest of the league. First would be the trade of Shaquille O’Neal after his relationship with Carmelo Anthony got to the point where one of them had to leave. The Phoenix Suns would send Amar’e Stoudamire and a 2008 first round pick in exchange for him. Elsewhere, deadly shooter Ray Allen would leave the Seattle SuperSonics for the Miami Heat.

The second round exit from the previous year seemed to fuel Kobe Bryant, as he’d win his second League MVP with a statline of 28.8 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 7.4 APG, as the Celtics would go onto win 60 games for the first seed.

The first round would see Washington Wizards be swept, and the Chicago Bulls would be taken care of in five to set up a showdown with the second seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals, as Dirk Nowitzki finished second in league MVP voting. A battle would ensue between both teams, but the Celtics would win in six games, as Duncan did his best to keep Dirk out of the equation, while Allen Iverson was anything but his old self.

Meeting the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals was the Phoenix Suns, with the duo of Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe’s Finals nemesis.

Games One and Two saw the teams split both games to bring the series tied up 1-1 going back to Phoenix. Game Three saw the old Shaquille O’Neal, finishing with his best game of the playoffs with 25 points and 12 rebounds to give the Suns a 2-1 lead. Game Four would see Chris Bosh emerge as an unlikely leader, his midrange game punishing the Suns with 29 points, only 10 inside the paint.

Game Four and Five would see Tim Duncan’s turn to emerge as the focal point of the offense with games of 27 and 33. Meanwhile, Kobe wouldn’t be as good at scoring as he was normally would be, but he’d have 10 assists and 8.

Game Six would be another victory for the Celtics with an 18 point victory, again Duncan being the focal point with a statline of 32 points and 10 rebounds with 3 blocks. The Celtics captured their third title in four years, this time around Tim Duncan would be named Finals MVP, causing jokes between him and Kobe.

“Didn’t realize you wanted to steal my thunder, Timmy.” Kobe’s would have a famous post-game antic with Duncan.
 

OriiGiins

Chapter Sixteen: The New Guard
The following two years saw the Boston Celtics take a backseat to the younger superstar led teams of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.

The Cavaliers would trade for a disgruntled Kevin Garnett in the 2007 offseason, sending Anderson Varejao, Mo Williams, Carlos Boozer (he never leaves) and two round picks, 2008 and 2011 to Minnesota.

The move would pay off for them, as they’d win 61 games, and would trounce the Celtics in the second round in six games on their way to win their first ever NBA title over the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, as Dwyane Wade’s magical playoff run would be capped off with the Finals MVP award.

The 2008 NBA Draft would see the Boston Celtics select George Hill with the twenty overall pick, still looking for a reliable Point Guard, as Kyle Lowry was struggling in the league and Derek Fisher was up in age.

Once again, the Boston Celtics would be trounced by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, this time in five games, as the Miami Heat would win the East, giving Lebron James his first Finals appearance, in a losing effort to the San Antonio Spurs, as Tracey McGrady would finally capture the ring that eluded him for so long.

Kobe would claim, later on in life, that those battles with Cleveland and Dwyane Wade was what eventually led to the other rings.

“We were going back and forth, and anyone who knows me, when there’s a competitor like that, and especially when I have to meet them every year in the playoffs. It’s on.”

On it would be, as Kobe and the Celtics wanted their throne back.
 

OriiGiins

Chapter Seventeen: Number Four And Number Five
The rest of the offseason would see the Seattle SuperSonics move from Seattle to Las Vegas, one of the biggest markets without any professional sports team. (The Hornets play in San Antonio post Katrina just as the Saints did, instead of Oklahoma City.)

The Las Vegas Outlaws, what else would they be named, would be the newest team in the league.

As if that desire to be back at the top, starting from Kobe, fueled the team, the Boston Celtics would capture the third seed with 53 wins.

The Milwaukee Bucks didn’t stand much of a chance in the first round being dispatched in five. Miami was up next, and another Kobe-Lebron showdown ensued, but Game Seven would see Duncan and Bosh be the deciding factors with double doubles from both of them.

The Eastern Conference Finals would be another showdown with the Cleveland Cavaliers. As if the previous eliminations from the two seasons fueled Kobe, they’d actually surprise everyone with a sweep, where Kobe would record 37, 33, 42 and a triple double.

The Phoenix Suns would meet the Celtics yet again in the Finals, but unlike the first series, they’d be finished off in five, as Steve Nash tried his best but his second best player was a past his prime Shaquille O’Neal, so they stood no chance.

Kobe would capture his third NBA Finals MVP award, averaging 25.8 PPG in the five game span.

The following year saw the Celtics be the second seed, with a 57 win season but they’d fall to the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round, as Dirk Nowitzki would capture his third NBA title with a run for the ages by beating Cleveland, Boston and Miami before facing off against the young upstart Las Vegas Outlaws in the Finals before finishing them off in a sweep.

That would bring the Celtics to the 2011 season. The Miami Heat was starting to fall apart, as the roster around Lebron James wouldn’t match his skill, the Cleveland Cavaliers had injury troubles and the rest of the East couldn’t keep up.

In the NBA Finals awaited the Las Vegas Outlaws, their second straight appearance, as they had a 61-21 record, seeming as if this would be the youngsters revenge run.

It wouldn’t be.

The Boston Celtics would show who was boss, as Kobe Bryant would run rampant on a poor defensive guard in the form of James Harden, and Tim Duncan in the post would do wonders on Serge Ibaka. The Outlaws stood no chance and would be finished off in five games, as the Celtics and Kobe would capture their fifth title, with Kobe earning his fourth Finals MVP.
Notes:
Quick update as title wins are always easy and fun to write. Thought about the idea of the Thunder being a different team, and Las Vegas is always a valid candidate.
 
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volantredx

volantredx

I don't see the Vegas team being called the Gamblers just due to the implications. More likely they either keep the name, change it to something vaguely Western like the Outlaws or The Desperatos, or they copy the WNBA team and call themselves the Aces.
 

OriiGiins

volantredx said:
I don't see the Vegas team being called the Gamblers just due to the implications. More likely they either keep the name, change it to something vaguely Western like the Outlaws or The Desperatos, or they copy the WNBA team and call themselves the Aces.
Click to expand...

I don’t know how that went over my head but very good point, let me change it.
 

OriiGiins

Chapter Eighteen: The Injury
Title defense number five was business as usual for the Boston Celtics. Not being as dominant as their past selves, they still managed to get a respectable record of 52-30, the third seed behind the New York Knicks and Miami Heat.

There were slight concerns surrounding the team during the regular season. First off, Kobe’s production numbers were slightly down from previous seasons, posting 21.3 PPG on 45.7% shooting. When asked about the numbers, Kobe would brush it off with a joke of “It gets boring to kick everyone’s ass all the time.”

Next up was Chris Bosh’s health. During the month of January, he’d miss six straight games with an undisclosed health issue. The team wouldn’t disclose what was bothering him, but Head Coach Doc Rivers would say it was serious enough to keep him off the court.

Still, the first round of the playoffs was the Atlanta Hawks. First two games would be easy Boston Celtic victories, and it looked as if another sweep would come.

Then it happened.

Late in the fourth quarter, trailing by five, Kobe would push the ball up the court, only to go down on minimal contact by the defender.

“I thought nothing happened, didn’t feel anything, so I got up to get back on defense since I lost the ball, and I was like “Oh, that’s not right.”

Kobe would tear his Achilles on the play, having to walk off the court in crunch time, everyone knew it was serious. He’d be out for the rest of the postseason, and early diagnosis indicated some of the 2014 season as well.

Tim Duncan and Chris Bosh would still take care of the Atlanta Hawks, finishing them off in six games where usual postseason nemesis Lebron James and the Miami Heat awaited.

Try as they might, the Celtics couldn’t keep up with a prime Lebron, still managing to win Games Two and Five, they’d be finished off in six games.

The Miami Heat would go onto beat the Indiana Pacers, before Lebron James would once again lose in the NBA Finals, this time to a young Minnesota Timberwolves, with their core of Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard, and Kevin Love. Following their Game Five clinching lost, Lebron James was seen taking his jersey off, the last time he’d touch a Miami Heat Jersey, as he’d finally leave to join Carmelo Anthony and another free agent Dwight Howard in Los Angeles on the Lakers.

Meanwhile, Kobe’s rehab would begin, five months after his surgery, he’d be out of a walking boot, but it was far from getting back on the court.

“I have insane respect for anyone who went through the same injury I did. S—t, hurts like hell, and the rehab is no joke. I did my best to push my body back as soon as it could go, but doctors and family wanted me to be as safe as possible.”
 
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