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It's hard to believe now, but back in their primes, Kevin Garnett actually wanted to team up with Kobe Bryant over Paul Pierce. The only reason it never fell through was that Kobe never answered any of Garnett's phone calls.
In 2007, Garnett was ready to move on from the Minnesota Timberwolves to try and win a championship elsewhere. He could have gone to any team he wanted to since his contract also had a no-trade clause. As Garnett narrowed down his options, it came down to three as revealed in his interview with Michael Pina of GQ: the Suns, Celtics, and the Lakers.
Kevin Garnett knew this was going to be a big decision. So before he was going to choose between the three teams, he wanted to meet up with all of them. The Suns were out of the running immediately since they told Garnett he'd have to take a pay cut and most of the players he wanted to team up with would have to be involved in the trade. His next meeting came with Danny Ainge and the Celtics, but he still wasn't convinced. At this point, Garnett was the Lakers to lose.
Instead of meeting with Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, Garnett wanted to have a chat with Kobe Bryant. However, during the time Garnett wanted to make his decision, Bryant was in China doing a tour for Nike.
Per John Kralis of Mass Live:
“I wanted to link with Kobe, but he never answered any of my calls.”
“T-Lue (Tyronn Lue) and Kobe were close, and he said to shoot at him again and see what he was on. So, I shouted again, and he didn’t get back. I had to make a decision.”
Garnett eventually agreed to playing in Boston after Antoine Walker convinced him at Gary Payton's wedding party. But can you imagine if KG did end up picking the Lakers over the Celtics? The whole NBA landscape could have looked like this:
1. The Celtics' Big 3 would never happen.
2. Kobe could have had a better chance to catch or even surpass Michael Jordan in rings.
3. Kobe Bryant vs. LeBron James in the Finals.
Everything did work out for both Garnett and Bryant. Garnett won his first ring in 2008 by beating Bryant and the Lakers. Then in 2010, Bryant got his revenge by beating the Celtics in seven games.
