Ryan Gomes exemplified class on and off the court.

AP / Chitose Suzuki

BOSTON — The old trade axiom that you have give up something good in order to get something good cost the Celtics Ryan Gomes yesterday.

Gomes, the former Providence College All-American, was part of the six-player deal that brought all-star Kevin Garnett to Boston. Gomes, Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair and Theo Ratliff are all headed to Minnesota.

Efforts to reach Gomes yesterday failed, and he’s slated to be introduced in Minnesota today. Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge and coach Doc Rivers both insisted that including Gomes in the deal was difficult to do.

“The bitter part of this day is that Minnesota got a good deal,” said Ainge. “It’s hard for us who’ve invested a lot of blood, sweat and tears with the players we had to trade. Ryan Gomes may be one of the best people I’ve been around in 25 years of sports.”

Rivers echoed Ainge’s sentiments, saying, “For a coach, this is a great day, but it’s also a difficult day. You put your heart into developing these guys, you really do. Making that trade call to those guys, that’s difficult.”

Gomes was the Celtics’ community award winner for his efforts in helping the franchise reach out to the New England area. Rich Gotham, the team’s president and a PC alumnus, said that losing Gomes “hurts me personally. He is the type of person we want representing the Celtics.”

Gomes has one year remaining on his contract (which pays $770,000), and he’ll have to prove himself in a new city. The Timberwolves are stocked with other young players in similar circumstances, like former Boston College star Craig Smith, first-round pick Corey Brewer from Florida and veterans Ricky Davis and Mark Madsen.

“I know we are giving up a great player. However, we are gaining very talented young players and draft picks in return,” said Minnesota owner Glen Taylor. “I am really excited about the future of the Minnesota Timberwolves. We have put together the building blocks for the future by adding quality young talent as well as future first-round picks in this trade to go along with our solid, young nucleus of Randy Foye, Craig Smith, Rashad McCants, Corey Brewer and Chris Richard. We are young, but we are also extremely talented. Our fans will really enjoy watching this core group play and grow together for years to come.”

kmcnamar@projo.com