Riot sounds off! (Topic: KG)

[Riot]

As many of you guys know, I am a big time Timberwolves homer and I am a season ticket holder. I get the privilege to watch Kevin Garnett, the best player on the planet, play live in person. The game last night influenced me to make this post/rant. Garnett single-handedly dominated the game until Wally Szczerbiak showed up in the 2nd half. He finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists, but those weren’t the most impressive numbers.

Garnett is one of, if not the, best leaders in the NBA. You hear about guys like Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant who “lead by example”. Doesn’t Kevin Garnett do that too? He gives nothing but his best, even in practice. He never takes a game off and he expects his teammates do the same thing. Here is where Garnett and Duncan become different in their leadership techniques. Duncan is very passive and he doesn’t really voice out against his teammates. Garnett is a very big trash talker, probably the best behind Gary Payton. Garnett gets in his teammates faces if they aren’t doing what Garnett expects them to do.

Just recently, I was at the game and it was the start of the 3rd quarter. The Timberwolves were battling with the Phoenix Suns, who won the game pretty easily, and Kevin Garnett noticed the team wasn’t playing with much intensity. Marko Jaric looked disinterested and Nash was getting into the lane at will against him. Garnett yelled at Marko, “If you don’t want to fucking play sit your mother fucking ass on the bench, God damn!” Marko started playing with a little more heart after that. Now, Tim Duncan would never do that (especially on the court) but it was something that needed to be done. In the end, the result was the same but it was just a little bit of what makes Garnett great. He’ll chew you out. He’ll chew out Wally, Marko, Hudson, Eddie, Hassell, and ECT.

There was another recent game (I forgot what the game was), but the team was doing their shoot around a few hours before the tip and Garnett sensed that the team didn’t have the energy they need to win the game. Garnett got everyone together and told them they have to play hard or don’t show up. Obviously, Garnett probably said it a little more obscenely but the announcers wouldn’t say anymore.

So for you guys reading this you must be going, “What the hell is Riot doing?” I’m trying to bring up a point. Kevin Garnett is not only the best player on the planet; he is one of the best leaders. Garnett isn’t a guy who complains or says “poor me”. Garnett isn’t a guy who runs away from his problems. This current Timberwolves team will make the playoffs this year. For whatever reason, Kevin Garnett seems to be get lost in the conversation. I was watching ESPN they asked Bill Walton and Steven A. Smith to list their top 5 NBA players today. They listed them, no Kevin Garnett. Then they mentioned some other people they would put up there. No Kevin Garnett. They didn’t even mention his name during the whole segment. Not even a mention. It made me sick.

I really don’t know what the point of this post was. Basically, I just want people to know about Garnett’s greatness. I can’t wait until Garnett wins his ring. He’s going to win it in Minnesota. I will be there when Garnett hoists up the trophy. I will be there when Garnett retires. I will be there when Garnett gets inducted to the Hall of Fame. What else is there to say?

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Garnett is one of, if not the, best leaders in the NBA. You hear about guys like Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant who “lead by example”. Doesn’t Kevin Garnett do that too? He gives nothing but his best, even in practice. He never takes a game off and he expects his teammates do the same thing. Here is where Garnett and Duncan become different in their leadership techniques. Duncan is very passive and he doesn’t really voice out against his teammates. Garnett is a very big trash talker, probably the best behind Gary Payton. Garnett gets in his teammates faces if they aren’t doing what Garnett expects them to do.

That might be all it takes to be a great leader in the land of Oz, but right here on this planet, and in highly competitive environmnets such as sports and the NBA in particular, it's all, and I mean ALL, about winning that ring. I personally disagree with that practice, but it is the truth I have come to accept. If yiou do not win, if you are not the best, then all that people will refer refer to you as is 'could have been'.

Think Karl malone. the guy scored tons of points, averaged 20ppg plus while he was 40, rarely ever led his team to losing seasons, but what do people think of him now? 'Great player, amazing longevity, but.... no ring. I prefer kevin Mchale.'. Not what I would say, but you get the point.

Conclusion: If people are going to recognise KG's incredible abilities on and off the court, which I believe are legitimate, then he has to win that championship. And I hope he does, someday, be it with teh Wolves or another team.

[Riot]

He will win a championship in Minnesota, mark my words.

[Jugs]

[Matt]

I think T'Wolves should trade KG. Do him a favour. Obviously KG wants to win, and Minny management has given him the chance to do so once, he aint going anywhere in Minny. Yes, they wouldn't even get close to equal in return, but it would do the guy a huge favour...he's been loyal to the team and hasn't complained. In the back of his mind i bet he feels he wishes was where he could win.

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

I think T'Wolves should trade KG. Do him a favour. Obviously KG wants to win, and Minny management has given him the chance to do so once, he aint going anywhere in Minny. Yes, they wouldn't even get close to equal in return, but it would do the guy a huge favour...he's been loyal to the team and hasn't complained. In the back of his mind i bet he feels he wishes was where he could win.

I'll have to agree. he's about 30 now, his thin frame cannot take much more punishment, I'd guess there are 3-5 good years left in him still. the Woves don't appear to have the mindset for building a contender anytime soon. Not with jaric running teh point and no decent SG with offensive skills to speak of. Wally can't guard a wall, and kandi is ...well... kandi.

[Anthony15]

He will win a championship in Minnesota, mark my words.

they had a chance in 03-04 season, but i doubt they will even get into the playoffs in near future.

[ShAuN]

Ive always liked KG. Hes a great player and hes underrated. During the offseason I heard KG for Pierce trade rumors. I live in MA. And I was thinking I would fucking love it if KG came to Boston. Too bad it didnt go through. But yea KG is a great leader and hes a great player.

[Axel]

Hopefully KG isn't the next Karl Malone.

[cyanide]

Garnett's not going to win a ring with this current Minnesota team, but I gotta agree he is very vocal, but I disagree about Duncan not being vocal. When I watch games with him in it, I see the guy talk all the time, and he talks very fast. He doesn't necessarily yell and go emotional like Garnett, but Duncan has that quiet assertiveness.

[Riot]

I think T'Wolves should trade KG. Do him a favour. Obviously KG wants to win, and Minny management has given him the chance to do so once, he aint going anywhere in Minny. Yes, they wouldn't even get close to equal in return, but it would do the guy a huge favour...he's been loyal to the team and hasn't complained. In the back of his mind i bet he feels he wishes was where he could win.

How would trading him be doing him or Minnesota a favor? First off, McHale and Glen Taylor owe it to the FANS to keep Garnett and build a winning team around him. Plus, trading Garnett wouldn't make Garnett happy. He has said recently (two days ago) that all the talk about people saying he should be traded so he can win a ring, "I don't listen to the people on the outside because they don't know what is happening inside. I want to stay here." Trading him wouldn't make him happy.

I remember this summer Garnett was training in Californa (as he always does) and there were rumors about him going to the Lakers or Pistons. Garnett got very upset with those rumors. He doesn't want to be traded. It's that simple. In fact, in the same interview they asked Garnett if he wanted the team to make a move and he said he was very happy with the personal. He seems happy this year and he likes the chemistry this team has.

The Timberwolves will make the playoffs this year. The Timberwolves will be a contender in another year or two. Kevin Garnett will retire a Minnesota Timberwolf.

[magius]

kg's kinda been lost this year because one he's not having a great one (in comparison to his previous), and two his team has been bad to mediocore the past 2 years. kg is a good leader, but not on td's level. and btw, i read somewhere somene saying that kobe was a good leader? please. while, kg may not be on td's level, he is kilometres above kobe in terms of leadership. i would consider the top 5 leaders in the nba today to be:

1. tim duncan
2. shaq o'neal
3. ben wallace
4. kevin garnett
5. steve nash/allen iverson

unless minny somehow acquires another a list star via free agency or draft, dont think you'll be seeing any championships. if it doesnt happen, kg may very well go hakeem olajowan/karl malone on you.

[Riot]

There are a ton of rumors going on right now that the Timberwolves will make a trade by Tuesday. Olowokandi has gotten two stargith DNP-CD's and apparently McHale is in talks with Boston, Seattle and Orlando.

[J@3]

I'm not sure Olowokandi is going to bring that star player Minnesota need.

[kinokong]

who knows maybe he'll have a good stretch of games and isiah thomas will give up channing frye a 1st and david lee for olowakandi

[Riot]

I'm not sure Olowokandi is going to bring that star player Minnesota need.

Olowokandi is a big man and he is expiring. He would be packaged with a player like Troy Hudson and Rashad McCants. I'm not sure we have the pieces (besides Garnett and Szczerbiak) to get a guy like Steve Francis or Ron Artest but a trade for a guy like Ricky Davis or Ronald Murray aren't out of the question. The team needs a #2/#3 scorer to put next to Garnett and Szczerbiak.

[Null17]

The thing with yelling at your teammates though is that it may have a negative effect on them. Instead of being motivated to play, they get pissed off at him and get more disinterested. While I don't doubt KG's passion. It might also be his greatest weakness since he sometimes gets carried away.

On the topic of TD screaming at his teammates, I think Pop is more likely to do that than any of the players on the Spurs roster

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

On the topic of TD screaming at his teammates, I think Pop is more likely to do that than any of the players on the Spurs rosters

And more often than not, after victories.

[Matt]

How would trading him be doing him or Minnesota a favor? First off, McHale and Glen Taylor owe it to the FANS to keep Garnett and build a winning team around him.

they've had 10yrs to build a team around him and failed....miserably. That's incompetence.

[Matthew]

What else is there to say?

You're a spastic? There now it's summed up.

Seriously though, KG is a great player. But is he truely better than Vince Carter? I'm not talking about career wise, I'm talking about right now. Where could you put him in the top 5? There about 15 guys in the league that you could rank in the 5 (Iverson, Wade, lebron, Duncan, Melo, Dirk, Elton Brand, Vince, Tmac, Nash, Marion, Allen, Arenas, Shaq, Amare, Paul Pierce, Jermaine O'neal) and justify it (for the record, my top 5 in order are Kobe, Iverson, KG, Chauncey and Brand). Just becuase Bill Walton and Greg Anthony dont mention him doesnt mean anything. We all know ESPN just adhere's to the thoughts of casual fans. If they had the same poll last season they wouldnt have mentioned kobe. The season before they wouldnt have mentioned Iverson.

Garnett is one of, if not the, best leaders in the NBA. You hear about guys like Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant who “lead by example”. Doesn’t Kevin Garnett do that too? He gives nothing but his best, even in practice. He never takes a game off and he expects his teammates do the same thing. Here is where Garnett and Duncan become different in their leadership techniques. Duncan is very passive and he doesn’t really voice out against his teammates. Garnett is a very big trash talker, probably the best behind Gary Payton. Garnett gets in his teammates faces if they aren’t doing what Garnett expects them to do.

Duncan has never needed to voice out against his teamates. The spurs have always had "good" guys on their roster since rodman in 95. And I think leading by example only works with certain players.

Just recently, I was at the game and it was the start of the 3rd quarter. The Timberwolves were battling with the Phoenix Suns, who won the game pretty easily, and Kevin Garnett noticed the team wasn’t playing with much intensity. Marko Jaric looked disinterested and Nash was getting into the lane at will against him. Garnett yelled at Marko, “If you don’t want to fucking play sit your mother fucking ass on the bench, God damn!” Marko started playing with a little more heart after that. Now, Tim Duncan would never do that (especially on the court) but it was something that needed to be done. In the end, the result was the same but it was just a little bit of what makes Garnett great. He’ll chew you out. He’ll chew out Wally, Marko, Hudson, Eddie, Hassell, and ECT.

Thats all well and good, but where was this type of leadership when spree needed to be put into his place? The media were the ones who did it, not kg.

As for your bold predictions, the Twolves could make the playoffs; but i doubt they will this season. 2 on five (kg and wally) just isnt going to work. Even the kobe and shaq combination had glen rice, rick fox, horace grant, robert horry, ron harper, derek fisher during their championship runs. And wally/kg isnt shaq or kobe. They need to surround kg with some good players, like they did in 2004. You dont think other great players have been left high and dry by their organisation? Barkler/malone/stockton /ewing... they were all great players but they went out without a ring becuase of the lack of help they had. It could happen to KG too.

[Riot]

Kevin Garnett got on Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell behind closed doors, apparently. However, Garnett said numerous times that he didn't want to call out Sprewell and Cassell for their contract issues because he wanted to keep the team together. He didn't want to divide the locker room.

[Matthew]

Looking back, do you think it was the best thing to do?

[Riot]

I think calling out Sprewell and Cassell would have been worse. I went to all the home games and watched all the road games, I did not see a lack of effort from Sprewell and Cassell. I think most people just used them as a scapegoat. I just think the team lost a step and wasn't athletic enough to compete in the Western Conference.

I don't know why the team faltered last season. I think a major part had to do with injuries. Garnett was obviously battling a knee injury, Cassell had injury issues, Madsem missed a lot of time, as did Griffin. I don't think Garnett handling the situation differently would have resulted in the team making the playoffs.

[Matthew]

That's fair enough. But you say the team lost a step and you dont know why; is it possible they were distracted by all the focus being on spree and cassell's demands?

[Riot]

I think that was part of it, but I think a lot of it was just the lack of athleticism and the team just didn't have a set rotation. Flip didn't do his best job that year. Now, he shouldn't have been fired but it's obvious that Sam Cassell is the reason why Flip Saunders was fired. Sam personally went to Kevin McHale complaining about Flip and Cassell told the media he was upset at Flip.

I think there were a lot of things that went wrong last year. With the awful year the team had, they were only about 2 games out of the playoffs in the Western Conference. I guess it's a hidden positive within a larger negative.