Keith Van Horn=Kevin Garnett???

Phil Jasner writing in the Daily News today-

"I haven't exactly gotten a flood of e-mails asking why the Sixers weren't players for a Garnett-quality acquisition, but the ones I've gotten openly wonder why "the Sixers never do stuff like this?" They did. Or have you forgotten Chris Webber? Keith Van Horn? Glenn Robinson? Or $50 million for Kenny Thomas?"

While the wisdom of the Celtics trading their entire future for one player is questionable, the fact that Kevin Garnett is one of the GREATEST PLAYERS IN NBA HISTORY is not. And he's still got a good 3-4 years of high-level play left in him (unlike the overrated and poorly aging Ray Allen).

So how exactly have the Sixers gone after players of Garnett's caliber? Keith Van Horn and Glenn Robinson, while pricey, are not Hall of Fame players like KG. And Webber, who may actually make the HOF (stop laughing), looked like he was playing on a wooden leg when the Sixers got him. Also, without Kenny Thomas' awful contract the Sixers would never have been able to trade for Webber anyway.

There's a big difference between going after pricey players and elite players still in their prime. The Celtics may have done a dumb thing getting rid of most of their franchise this offseason for basically 2 players (prove me wrong, Big Baby), but it automatically makes them the best team in their division for the next 2 years. And KG, Pierce, Allen, and a bunch of rodeo clowns could make the Finals out of the crappy Eastern Conference. They didn't go out and grab a Webber or a Van Horn; they got themselves a game changing force. The Sixers haven't done that in a long, long time.