Kevin Garnett Retires

[Andrew]

Via ESPN.com

Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves are in advanced discussions on a buyout that is expected to end Garnett's second stint with the Wolves, according to league sources.

The belief in Minneapolis, sources told ESPN.com, is that Garnett, at age 40, will opt for retirement after 21 seasons in the NBA.

But the strongest signals Wednesday night pointed to Garnett and his representatives securing a settlement with the Wolves that leads to his departure from the organization with one season and $8 million left on his current contract.

Garnett agreed to come back to the Wolves, sources say, in part because he hoped to join Saunders in eventually buying the franchise from longtime Wolves owner Glen Taylor. But Garnett lost his strongest ally in the organization when Saunders died just before the start of last season, just three months after it was announced that he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

That's a shame. I was hoping he'd end his career in Minnesota, though granted he actually will if he does intend to retire. If he's discussing a buyout though, maybe he is seeking to set a new record of 22 seasons in the league by playing one more year elsewhere.

If so...you know what? Let him go to the Bulls, if he's willing to come off the bench for a few minutes. It's already going to be pretty interesting with the trio of Butler, Wade, and Rondo. Might as well throw KG into the mix, if he's interested.

UPDATE: He's retired.

Kevin Garnett has decided to retire after 21 seasons in the NBA, leaving a legacy as one of the best defensive players in league history and one of the game's most influential and intense competitors.

Garnett posted the video on Friday, four days before the Minnesota Timberwolves are set to open training camp. He narrates the short, black-and-white video that shows him walking alone through Target Center with sunglasses on.

[[Q]]

And they traded a good Young player in Thad young for this?

[Andrew]

They're in decent shape for the future. Young isn't exactly a star or anything, so I think it was worth a retirement tour, if this turns out to be it for him.

[Sauru]

so KG joining the warriors of a vet min?

[Andrew]

Probably wouldn't have much of an impact at this point, but still...please, no.

[NovU]

Damn those ex celtics are ring chasers. Bet their fans are bandwagoners too. Shame.

[Sauru]

Probably wouldn't have much of an impact at this point, but still...please, no.

it wont help the warriors win, they already won but it would have an impact of KG when people talk about him 15 years from now.

[Andrew]

As it turns out, he is indeed retiring. As I said, it's cool to see him hang it up where it all began, after a year and a half of mentoring the young guys. One of my all-time favourite non-Bulls, and definitely Hall of Fame bound. That's going to be quite a class in five years time, with KG, Kobe, and Duncan.

[debiler]

Man, I'm getting emotional over here. Back then, we were lucky enough to get to see 1-2 NBA games per week over here in Germany. Garnett was the first of 'the new guys' who left a lasting impression on me and helped me get over MJ's first retirement. Every time a game was on, I hoped it'd be the Timberwolves. But no, half of these games were Heat vs Knicks...

[NovU]

I liked him when he was with the Wolves but him getting Celticized changed my perception 180 degrees. He turned into a huge dick, couldn't bare to watch him no more especially his mouthing. But then that's just natural Celdick influence to anyone that comes in contact with them so I should let him off the hook now. Great player with great career. Will miss him.

[Sauru]

I liked him when he was with the Wolves but him getting Celticized changed my perception 180 degrees. He turned into a huge dick, couldn't bare to watch him no more especially his mouthing. But then that's just natural Celdick influence to anyone that comes in contact with them so I should let him off the hook now. Great player with great career. Will miss him.

this post proves you are either A. clueless about basketball and only watch highlights or B. a typical internet troll

[NovU]

Proves neither.

Not everyone has to like the Celtics. You kids don't understand this.

Btw what if he stayed a Wolves and didn't win jack shit. Would we still consider him one of the best PFs ever? Funny bcuz so many kids today complain superstars don't stay with one franchise but would rather forget one franchise player that fails.

[Sauru]

you think he started trashing talking when he joined the celtics? and not sure who you are calling a kid, to me you seem to be the youngest one here.


also he would be considered one of the best ever if he never won a ring by those who actually understand the game of basketball. 10-20 years from now you will probably see people claiming he would only be average at best in todays game but those people will be proving they dont know jack shit about the game

[NovU]

Do you seriously think post Wolves KG antic was same as before, you are completely deluded. Aging molds your personality and behaviour. PreCeltics KG was surely intense and challenging, those traits definitely came out stronger later in his career. Perhaps this is too hard to understand for kids.

also he would be considered one of the best ever if he never won a ring by those who actually understand the game of basketball. 10-20 years from now you will probably see people claiming he would only be average at best in todays game but those people will be proving they dont know jack shit about the game

Ring matters my friend. Even those who actually understand the game, they put a lot of emphasis on it because it is the ultimate prize and goal for everyone. This is why Kobe is so greater than Wade, why Olajuwon is greater than most of his peers, is also the only reason why Duncan is bether than KG and all Malones, and ultimately why ppl consider Bill Russell>Wilt. This is unless we go full stats and nothing else which nobody really gives a shit anyways.

Im sick of pretentious ppl acting up as if there is no real incentives to chase after ultimate prize even though it is the very reason why players play at all.

[debiler]

Counting rings is a crutch for making a point in an argument that ultimately leads nowhere. I'm not saying that rings don't matter, because they do. But when we talk about a player's legacy, his abilities or his overall greatness, rings should not be a part of that discussion. Because a championship is first and foremost a team effort. MJ wouldn't have won six, Garnett wouldn't have won 1, even Russell wouldn't have won however many rings he has without the right team at the right time. So please, stop with the ring talk and focus on the stuff that matters. Garnett was great, he was emotional, he was a leader. He was a provocative dick at times. It was always in his character. But playing with the Celtics, he did kind of embrace that part of his personality a bit more. To great effect.

[Sauru]

rings matter for sure but they are not the end of a conversation. by that logic robert horry is better than more of the players in nba history. context has to be taken into account. kobe is not better than wade because he has more rings, he was better than wade because he was better than wade.


also please explain why you keep saying "kids these days" how old are you anyways?


another thing with the kg topic, how often did you guys actually watch him play before he made it to boston and was the talk of the entire nba?

[debiler]

(...)another thing with the kg topic, how often did you guys actually watch him play before he made it to boston and was the talk of the entire nba?

Well, as I said in my first post: I watched him whenever I could. As he got older, it seemed to me he became more and more sincere and less the goofy, funny kid he used to be. Maybe I phrased it badly before, I didn't mean to say it was the Celtics' influence which inspired that change. He just changed by himself.

[NovU]

You further prove my point, Sauru. 'Ring' subversively clouds your judgment process and you don't even realize it. If Kobe didn't have a ring, he would have little to no argument against Wade. In many parts of statistical world, it's already common to consider Wade a superior player even as is. I hope you understand saying "Kobe is Kobe so he is just better than Wade" doesn't make you look cool. If that is your way of approach to the worthy debate, I don't know how you are any different from RING FIRSTERs that yourself is criticizing.


Point here stands, sauru. KG has been a poster child for douchery and bad sportsmanship. This was re-emphasized multiple times while he was with the Celtics. That's not to take things away what he accomplished as a player.

[Sauru]

kobe could have zero rings and would still be the better player over wade.


also i never disagreed with KG being an asshole, i just said he has been an asshole his entire career

[Andrew]

KG's...antics, shall we say, were always a thing. It sometimes seemed like they were more pronounced when he was a Celtic, but it might have just been the increased exposure. Like I said, I didn't really care for that stuff no matter which uniform he wore, but he was still a tremendous player who I enjoyed watching for other parts of his game.

I was glad that he got a ring with the Celtics in 2008. Given his significant role and the way in which the trade came about, it never really struck me as ring chasing, either. He was pretty loyal to the Timberwolves even through some tough times, and when the opportunity arose for them to move on and trade him to a team that was trying to assemble a championship squad, he seemed to take his time before signing off on the deal. Nothing's ever really come out about him forcing his way out of Minnesota, so I feel he deserves credit for that.

[NovU]

I will say its idiotic to say two different era KG antics were entirely equal.

[Dee4Three]

I liked him when he was with the Wolves but him getting Celticized changed my perception 180 degrees. He turned into a huge dick, couldn't bare to watch him no more especially his mouthing. But then that's just natural Celdick influence to anyone that comes in contact with them so I should let him off the hook now. Great player with great career. Will miss him.

You have no clue what you are talking about. Garnett was the exact same mouth with the Wolves, I'm not shy and will tell my age, I'm 32 next month. I watched Garnett closely as a rookie up until he retired. He used to get in the same scuffles, have the same type of post game press conferences, talk shit all the time on the court, KG was KG His whole career.

You are really insulting to other members, and act "elite". Yet you bring up nothing that supports your arguments, it comes off silly. Sauru made some great points, and you acted elite and tried to shut him down and basically called him an idiot without using that word.

CELTICIZED? That might be the most ridiculous statement/argument of all. Players don't turn into douchebags when they go to Boston, if anything, if a player was a douchebag or kind of an ass, they always seem to be humbled by the tradition and seem to really come into there own. I. Thomas had kind of a bad rap before he went to Boston, and hes been nothing but great in Celtic green. Before Evan Turner hit Boston, he was labeled as selfish and even was mentioned as uncoachable, or even a bust. He turned into a fine player with Boston, and got a big contract out of it with Portland.

I literally can't think of one player that turned into an asshole going to the Celtics.

You also claim Celtics fans are bandwagoners... Celtics fans might be the least bandwagoners in the NBA, you have to be trolling. In the 96-97 Season, the celtics won 15 games, and the fans were still all over them cheering them on. In the mid 2000s where the celtics weren't making it deep in the Playoffs at all, when Pierce was solo, the support was certainly there. You are completely wrong here.

13-14, 14-15 and 15-16 all AFTER KG/Allen/Pierce were gone the Celtics had roughly the same attendance as 07-08, 08-09, and 09-10. But the Celtics fans are bandwagon fans....

http://www.celticstats.com/misc/attendance.php

Sauru and company, don't worry about this guy. Your points were valid.

Also, Kobe is a better all around player than Wade. He's a better shooter (mid and three), has better foot work, and overall is a better defender. Wade was always a great slasher, but never had the COMPLETE game of Bryant. So tossing championships aside even and just looking at the players skills, Kobe is better.

Rings play a role in defining a legacy, but as far as an individual players skillset, it doesn't necessarily mean that someone with 0 titles isn't as good as a star with 1 or more. For instance, Charles Barkley's second fiddle was Kevin Johnson, next to him maybe Thunder Dan/Ceballos. Before that team, Erving was at the end of his career early on with Barkley, and his next sidekicks were Johnny Dawkins / Hersey Hawkins. And when he finally went to The Rockets at 32, he was out of his prime, and so was Hakeem and Clyde. If Barkley had been paired with a bit better of a team in his prime or even earlier on, he may have one or two. In my opinion, he's the best PF to play the game.

Patrick Ewing is another guy who stayed put, and was just an amazing talent. Never had the team around him, he started getting better talent towards the end of his career (LJ, Sprewell, Houston). No titles for Ewing, but he's one of the best centers ever.

Kevin Garnett was a jerk sometimes, but he was a winner. He made guys work hard with his fiery attitude, he motivated them. The teams defense always picked up when he was on the floor. He could make a teammate cry. But that teammate would give it his all for Garnett (Big baby example). KAT was sad that his mentor retired, that says something. KAT seems like a great guy.

[NovU]

I'm not shy and will tell my age, I'm 32 next month.

You are really insulting to other members, and act "elite". Yet you bring up nothing that supports your arguments,

I am older than you and I am sure I have watched the league closely as well. Forum members know how active I was as we would do recap on nearly every game each night. But that's a non issue for this discussion. That is the weakest argument anyone could come up with anyways as virtually there's no way to prove that you did in fact follow the league closely. Let's not play that game. It gets nowhere.

CELTICIZED? That might be the most ridiculous statement/argument of all.

Things like that indeed happened. As explained above, it may be due to increased exposure or being on a hyped team you probably have more reasons to get into opposing team's head. Whatever it is, I don't care. Don't force your idea upon my throat that I have to like both era's KG. I don't. People like LBJ but hated Heat's era LBJ despite him being the same shitty person for the entire time being. Who gives a shit, let people live their way. You and sauru are so fixated upon proving that KG is the same shitty person, ok, fine, Drop it ffs.





As for Wade and Kobe discussion, what is your support? Or is it just your belief. Prime Wade has higher PER/WS, better efficiency, better defensive numbers, and better passer. Prime Kobe has very slight edge in scoring, and rebounding. But he played more minutes, took more attempts, and shot with less efficiency. He unlearned defense too.

You said I don't have support but I am not the one throwing big words around like "he has better all around game" without any backing up.

I am just saying at the end of the day, it's tough to say Kobe's the clear winner here.

[Dee4Three]

I'm not shy and will tell my age, I'm 32 next month.

You are really insulting to other members, and act "elite". Yet you bring up nothing that supports your arguments,

I am older than you and I am sure I have watched the league closely as well. Forum members know how active I was as we would do recap on nearly every game each night. But that's a non issue for this discussion. That is the weakest argument anyone could come up with anyways as virtually there's no way to prove that you did in fact follow the league closely. Let's not play that game. It gets nowhere.

CELTICIZED? That might be the most ridiculous statement/argument of all.

Things like that indeed happened. As explained above, it may be due to increased exposure or being on a hyped team you probably have more reasons to get into opposing team's head. Whatever it is, I don't care. Don't force your idea upon my throat that I have to like both era's KG. I don't. People like LBJ but hated Heat's era LBJ despite him being the same shitty person for the entire time being. Who gives a shit, let people live their way. You and sauru are so fixated upon proving that KG is the same shitty person, ok, fine, Drop it ffs.





As for Wade and Kobe discussion, what is your support? Or is it just your belief. Prime Wade has higher PER/WS, better efficiency, better defensive numbers, and better passer. Prime Kobe has very slight edge in scoring, and rebounding. But he played more minutes, took more attempts, and shot with less efficiency. He unlearned defense too.

You said I don't have support but I am not the one throwing big words around like "he has better all around game" without any backing up.

I am just saying at the end of the day, it's tough to say Kobe's the clear winner here.

Wow.. it really is pointless with you.

I won't even entertain this conversation anymore. You completely butchered it.

[NovU]

My frustration stems from you and Sauru's lack of ability to illustrate conceivable evidence to back up your claims. You have pre-made foregone conclusion and have no interests in exploring different views and idea. This ends up as a preaching and shutting down the discussion when constructive debate is very possible. For instance, let's examine your reasons on why I am wrong on KG:

- You are 32 yo and watched him in his days. So he demonstrated the same bad mouthing and antic the whole time.

When the counter facts are:
- cancer patient insult Villanueva
- honey nut cheerios insult to who was having a marital problems
- bitch like behaviour to ray allen
- saying should have ditched Wolves a loong time ago
- countless on court physical scuffles
I am sure I am missing lots of things here but the list goes on...

Now you see, was I just supposed to take your every word to the heart and believe it? Or is it conceivable your argument was weak and frustrating. You and sauru seem to want me dead and shut down for no possible further discussion. Why couldn't you two just illustrate his same shitty behaviour from the Wolves days? That would have been much easier and nicer but ofc not, you resort to raging and name callings. I don't roll that way, kid.

Now for Wade and Kobe, you are the one with pre-made conclusion and preaching attitude that nothing will change your perception while showing off no evidence to back it up. It's a tough task to change anyone's perception and that won't cut it. Whereas I was just suggesting there are good reasons to explore Kobe and Wade because they are well in same class despite general perception out there Kobe is vastly superior. But it just is inconceivable to you and discussion has to be shut down.