Kevin Garnett: What Kind Of A Role Will He Have Next Season?

When the artist formerly known as The Kid made his triumphant return back to the Twin Cities in late February, Minnesotans everywhere fell into a level of deranged deliriousness the Target Center had not felt since the team last made the postseason, circa 2004.

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Thus, not surprisingly, Timberwolves fans collectively gave their unequivocal approval when Kevin Garnett decided to re-up with the Minnesota Timberwolves to the tune of a two-year, $16 million contract this offseason.

If KG manages to fulfill the entirety of his contract, he will be the first player in NBA history to play in his teens, 20s, 30s, and 40s. He is also the only active player to have played against Magic Johnson as a wide-eyed rookie during the 1995-96 campaign.

While Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders called Garnett’s decision to return a “significant signing,” there are questions as to what kind of impact the Living Legend will make as he heads into his 21st season in the association.

More explicitly, over the past two seasons, KG has played, and logged, under 105 games and 2,000 minutes in total. In fact, the Big Ticket appeared in just five contests last year in his second go-around as a T-Wolf after his post-All-Star-break trade from Brooklyn.

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Given the wear and tear he has accumulated, the prospect of Garnett suiting up for an entire season next year is slim-to-none.

Likewise, the Mauldin, SC-native’s offensive game has fallen off of a cliff since leaving Boston in 2013. In fact, his true shooting percentage has finished lethargically on the wrong side of 50 percent for two consecutive years.

On the other hand, however, optimists, and Saunders, will sell you on the intangibles Garnett will assuredly bring — the mentorship he will provide for Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, as well as the championship pedigree and veteran presence he will discharge in Minnesota’s locker room.

More explicitly, KG is perhaps the only person in the NBA with enough cache and respect to walk out of practice unscathed after ripping Nikola Pekovic with a tirade of expletives for not getting back on defense in a dummy drill.

In addition, if last season’s limited sample is any indication, the 2008 NBA Defensive Player of the Year remains a plus defender at age 39. Most notably, in the five games he appeared in as a Wolf last year, Minnesota’s defense only allowed 97.4 points per 100 possessions with Garnett on the floor — a whopping 17.6 points per 100 possessions less when compared to when the Ticket was seated in a suit on the Wolves’ bench, per NBAWowy!.

His ability to quarterback a defense and his shrewd acumen as a help defender can still uplift the cohesiveness and clarify the Timberwolves’ team D responsibilities.

But, at this point in his career — putting aside the tear-jerking nostalgia associated with his famous No. 21 — is he worth $8 million per year to serve merely as a spot linebacker and year-round mentor? Does such a role demand a multi-year guaranteed contract worth well-above the mid-level exception? Is Garnett simply a glorified assistant coach going forward?

Moreover, the Wolves currently bear — health permitting — a significant logjam at the 4 and 5 positions in the frontcourt.

On merit and resume, alone, Saunders has already penciled in Garnett as the opening night starter at the power forward slot; a position he will share with Adreian Payne, Anthony Bennett, and Nemanja Bjelica.

At his advanced age, however, Garnett may be more suited to play at the 5 full-time; but the minutes at the center position will be consumed by the No. 1 overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft in Karl-Anthony Towns, along with Gorgui Dieng and Nikola Pekovic.

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In an effort to effectively project the long-term growth of the team, the Wolves would be wise to thoroughly evaluate Payne, Bennett, and Bjelica next season — and even Dieng, if Towns can prove he has the foot speed to play at the 4 extensively — to determine which big their staff should develop and complement alongside their prized franchise big going forward.

Whether Garnett will eat up enough material minutes to interrupt the T’Wolves’ assessment of their core of youthful bigs is still to be determined. However, there is not a more qualified professor in the league to teach KAT the introductory course of Modern Big Man 101 than the Ticket himself.

His role on the team, on-court wise, is murky at best. But from day one, Kevin Garnett — as he’s done for the past 20 years– will demand the most, and bring out the best, out of the likes of Wiggins, Towns, and Zach LaVine.

Even if the proposition is far-fetched, KG is already prognosticating the possibility of playoffs for the young pups as soon as next season.

“Here’s what KG told our players: If you’re coming to camp on September 29, and you’re coming with the idea that we’re not going to make the playoffs, don’t even bother coming in,'” Saunders told Grantland’s Zach Lowe. “That’s all that needs to be said.”

“I’m looking forward to it all,” Garnett told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. “The process to greatness starts now.”

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