Celtics-Nets trade revisited: How Paul Pierce’s trade paved the way for 2022 Finals

The Celtics’ run to the 2022 NBA Finals has been nine years in the making.

Let’s go back to the beginning of June 2013 — Jayson Tatum is 15, Jaylen Brown is 16, and Paul Pierce just finished his 15th season with the Celtics. In a few weeks, a draft-night trade would end an era while planting the seeds for the futures of two high schoolers.

MORE: Why was Jayson Tatum No. 3 in the 2017 NBA Draft?

In just nine years, the Celtics are on the verge of turning this team-changing trade into an 18th championship in franchise history.

A look back at how a June 27, 2013 trade could have an immediate impact on the 2022 NBA Finals.

MORE: A preview of the 2022 NBA Finals

Celtics-Nets trade revisited: How Paul Pierce’s trade paved the way for 2022 Finals

The 2012-13 NBA season was an interesting one. The Nets had their first season in Brooklyn while the Celtics suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Heat in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.

Brooklyn finished the season with a 49-33 record and is the fourth seed in the East, while Boston is seventh with a 41-40 record. (The Celtics’ season finale was canceled after the Boston Marathon bombing.)

Both the Nets and Celtics were eliminated in the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs, which means it’s time for a change. Brooklyn’s front office is ready to win right away, while Boston is ready to rebuild, paving the way for a blockbuster deal.

2013 Celtics-Nets trade details

• The Nets received: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry, DJ White
• The Celtics get: Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries, Kris Joseph, Gerald Wallace, 2014 first-rounder, 2016 first-rounder, 2017 first-rounder swap, 2018 first-rounder

In addition to five active players, Boston has four future draft picks from Brooklyn. Because the Nets’ success with the new core was short-lived, the team was quickly among the worst in the league, making draft picks a very valuable commodity.

• 2016: Celtics select Jaylen Brown with the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft after the Nets go 21-61
• 2017: The Nets finished with a 20-62 record and the Celtics exercised their draft pick exchange rights and won the No. 1 pick. Boston will trade to No. 3, where it selects Jayson Tatum.
• 2018: The Nets finished 28-54 and the Celtics took the 8th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. The pick was rescheduled to Cleveland as part of a trade that made Kyrie Irving the Celtics.

MORE: From breakup to breakout: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown put Celtics back in NBA Finals

Celtics and Nets since 2013

In the years since the trade, the Celtics have missed the playoffs only once, and have made four appearances in the Eastern Conference finals and reached the NBA Finals once. The Nets missed the playoffs three times, winning only two playoff series games.