It seems like ages ago when Kevin Garnett teamed up with Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell in the beginning of what is now known as “super teams” (teams of three All-Star players that team up to win championships).
Garnett won the MVP that season, but the team failed to make it to the NBA Finals, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers (who would eventually lose to the Detroit Pistons). That year shifted the way that NBA fans viewed Garnett, who had always averaged great numbers but failed to get out of the first round.
That wasn’t enough for Garnett though.
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He ended up joining a new super team with the Boston Celtics and eventually received his reward. He did end up winning a championship (beating the Lakers in cosmic irony), and shouting at the top of his lungs, “Anything is possible!” But now that he has passed the twilight of his career, and is looking for that final stop, he has opted to return back to the place he began.
Due to Garnett’s fierce loyalty, he is deciding to join back at his old club. But how can he fit exactly? Is this simply a ploy for the Minnesota Timberwolves to get some publicity, make some money and send off a Hall of Fame forward? I think that there is still some life in the old man. Allow me to explain.
Defensively, Garnett has been as good as anybody in the league. He has aged like fine wine the way that Tim Duncan has. Garnett is still averaging a steal per game, and while he doesn’t quite get the blocks that he used to get, he still is able to knock opposing players off their shot and outside of their comfort zone. Just look at him defend during this sequence:
His intensity is still very high. Ask Dwight Howard when this happened:
I’m sorry, but any player who does these sorts of things is not finished yet. Garnett clearly has some juice left in the tank. Consider his DRPM (Defensive Real Plus-Minus), which is 3.36, which is sixth amongst power forwards in the league. That is 17th in the league. Minnesota can definitely benefit from 20 minutes of very good to great defensive play from Garnett.
Now, to address the offensive play of Garnett. He isn’t going to light up stat sheets for teams. But he is still nearly averaging seven rebounds per game in only 20 minutes per game. Per 36 minutes, Garnett is averaging 12 rebounds per game and 12 points per game, doing it while shooting 45 percent from the field and nearly 83 percent from the free-throw line.
I’m not suggesting that Garnett is going to turn into 2004 MVP again, but what I am suggesting is that for the little bit that he has left in the tank, he could help be a locker room presence, bring a winning mentality and mentor younger players like Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins. That would be worth bringing Garnett back to his home team. The old man is not done in the league yet.
Next: NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of All Time
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