Here it is…the worst post I have ever made. It’s the “Garnett is traded” rambling that I had thoughts of writing long before this day ever came. Yeah…there were plenty of times in his 12 years that people thought he would leave. Either by free agency or by trade demand. I don’t think any of us ever thought he would leave this way. What way are you asking? He was forced out of Minnesota. The man didn’t want to leave, but the ones making the decisions ultimately pulled the plug on the Garnett era. Leaving us Timberwolves fans without a proper way to say goodbye the man who not only changed the game of basketball but also the community. It hits close to home for many of us here in ‘Sota.
I don’t want to get into the politics of basketball but the fact that Glen Taylor would tell Garnett one thing and then do the opposite is a little upsetting. One can understand why eventually Garnett would willingly go to Boston, a place that obviously felt his services were much more needed. Glen Taylor and the Wolves front office let me down and it will be hard for them to get my trust back. Absolutely in shock at the moment.
Anyways, this post is to reflect on the time we had with “Ticket”. He came into the league as a young, thin project who was doing something nobody had done for two decades (coming straight out of high school). The Wolves took the chance on him. McHale and Flip Saunders believed in him and they molded him into the player he is today. The Wolves were in the gutter when Garnett arrived. Once he was here and we got him to team up with Marbury and Gugs and made it to the playoffs that first year against Seattle…we thought there was nowhere to go but up from there. Well guess what? Scandals, greed, death and stupidity stopped a great thing from forming for 6-7 years here in Minnesota. When it seemed like everyone was jumping ship for greener pastures there was one man who stood tall and firmly planted his roots here in Minnesota. Kevin Garnett. He signed extensions. He shot down trade rumors. He repeated he wanted to stay here. In the meantime, he made his mark off the court by spending many hours and paychecks on making this city a better place. He took Minnesota under his wings.
2003-2004 arrived with some new teammates. Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell came to town with a chip on their shoulders. They worked well with Ticket and the team ran away that season. #1 seed in the Western Conference. That playoff run was one of the best times of my life. I’m proud to say I was apart of that. Even though we came up short we were convinced that the next year would be our year. So was everyone else. Things didn’t work out that way. We sputtered. More Greed. More Stupidity. But bigger failure. We missed the playoffs for the first time since Garnett’s rookie year. Big ouch. So the team “retools” in the off-season for a more chemistry drawn approach. Flip is gone. The team misses the playoffs again. Garnett shuts down rumors that he wants to go. The man had NO QUIT in him. He didn’t want to leave. Even after this year with yet another coaching change. He didn’t have to do what he did here, but he wanted to. He listened to other Minnesota sport athletes. He was friends with Puckett and he wanted NOTHING MORE than to be what Puckett was. He can’t do that now because of way this team has been run for the past 12 years. Yeah, Garnett makes a ton of money but that doesn’t explain why the other 65% of the payroll is tied up to complete SHIT. It boggles my mind. I use to defend McHale but this last move puts me over the edge. It’s waving the white flag. It’s ending an era that shouldn’t end this way.
So this is to Garnett…the man who is everything an athlete should be. He’s a model citizen and one hell of a basketball player. We’ll miss his smile, character and selfishness just as much as we’ll miss his 20-10-5. He knows we’ll be waiting for him on February 8th to welcome him back home to the Garnett Center…the very building he helped put on the map.
Until that day comes when we raise his jersey to the rafters next to his idol, Malik Sealy, so long, Kevin. Go win that ring for us in Boston. We are ALL rooting for you.
Garnett video
INTENSITY.
CARING.
EXCELLIENCE.
PASSION.
EFFORT.
...And much, much more. Thanks Kevin for everything.
