He's had not one, but two contracts worth over $100 million, lives in a nice Malibu spread, is the brother-in-law of R&B hit-maker Jimmy Jam, has the respect of the great Bill Russell, owns a championship ring and is a lock for the basketball Hall of Fame.
And yet, is it OK to say Kevin Garnett's had a tough break?
Watching him drag his bum leg around for 30 minutes reminds you of why K.G.'s career, great as it's been, will end somewhat shortchanged. It's all a matter of perspective, actually.
Yes, he's obscenely wealthy and already ranks among the best ever at his position. True, he just has a repaired knee; it's not like he's hooked up to life support. Nobody's saying we throw a pity party for a person who, all things considered, has led 10 charmed lives.
Charmed, yes. Perfect? Hardly, at least not professionally. K.G. spent all but two years of his career trapped in Minnesota, never maximizing his amazing skills or seeing the fruits of his hard work during the height of his prime, in terms of championships. His Minnesota teams fluctuated between bad and somewhat interesting, and finally disintegrated infamously when Latrell Sprewell immortally uttered something about feeding his family.
And then, after experiencing instant gratification once he joined the Celtics, K.G. was robbed of a repeat championship when his body snapped during an unexpectedly intense playoff series against a No. 7 seed, causing him to have surgery. He hasn't been the same since the Celtics took those body blows from the Bulls last spring. And now, given his health and the wear and tear, there's the very real possibility K.G. will live out the remaining years of his contract as an expensive ornament that sparkles only occasionally.
He deserves better. This is a player who always stayed in shape, refused to moan his way out of Minny, never took anything for granted, kept working on his game even after the big money and stayed unselfish to a fault. But because of circumstances he never created or asked for, Garnett appears to be going out with a whimper. Players who otherwise wouldn't venture anywhere near the lane with K.G. on guard are now going for the poster, realizing the Celtics big man is nailed to the floor. The Celtics have fallen to the No. 4 seed in the East and if the Bucks get any hotter, look out below. Plus, if times are looking bleaker now for K.G. and the Celtics, wait 'til next season.
His case falls under the category of Unfortunate Situations, of which there are a handful in the NBA right now:
Well, yeah, it was due to great general managing and foresight. Or maybe due to Isiah Thomas. That's how the Jazz came away with a reserved seat in this summer's Draft lottery. To recap: When Isiah took over the Knicks in 2004, he wanted to make a splash, and he did, trading the future pick and some bad contracts to Phoenix for Stephon Marbury. Whoops. Months later, the Jazz grabbed the pick in a salary-dump swap with the Suns. Double-whoops. With Carlos Boozer perhaps headed elsewhere this summer via free agency, the Jazz can draft some inside muscle. Or, if they strike gold and get No. 1, they can grab Evan Turner or John Wall, two underclassmen expected to enter. For the record, Deron Williams says he'd have "no problem" if Utah goes that route. The only folks with a "problem" are the Knicks and their fans. How much longer must they suffer for mistakes of the past?
What are the odds of a pair of young big men, counted on to transform the franchises that drafted them No. 1 overall, suffering season-ending injuries? Hard to tell which one was crueler: Oden going down for a second time or Griffin never getting a regular-season minute. At least Garnett had 14 years before limping off the court.
Barely halfway through his first year on the job in D.C., it all came crashing down for Saunders. Gilbert Arenas brings guns to the locker room, and that's the tumbling domino that leads to the Wizards stripping the team bare and starting over. When Flip took the job, he had visions of 50 wins and the playoffs. Now he gets to watch Andray Blatche pad the stats.
A rich basketball fan buys the Grizzlies and moves them from Vancouver to Memphis, where there's little to no competition for the entertainment dollar. He hires Jerry West to help launch the operation. He gets a new arena. And after a bad stretch of losing, has an entertaining team and an All-Star on the floor this season. And guess what? He still sees a half-empty building. In Memphis, Elvis gets more customers in death than the Grizzlies can get alive.
He was sent to Minny in the K.G. trade and is spending his prime seasons (17 points and nine rebounds a game this year) on a team that could be years from contending for the playoffs. Isn't this how this story began?
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