Saturday, June 23, 2007 Sayson: A breath of fresh air for KG By Homer Sayson Second Overtime
CHICAGO - When I watched Kevin Garnett play here last Dec. 9, he whipped a masterpiece that reminded us why he has been named an All-Star in 10 of his 12 NBA seasons.
The 2004 league MVP, Garnett tormented the Bulls for 18 points and eight assists. And using every inch of his 6-foot-11 length, he laid his hands on 11 rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots.
If the United Center plumbing had needed repair on that cold Saturday night, I had no doubt Garnett would have fixed it, too. He was that good, the all in all-around.
Nine days after that sluggish Spurs-Cavaliers NBA Finals, a sleepy NBA, already shaken to its core by Kobe Bryant’s impending divorce with the Lakers, was further awakened by the prospect of Garnett changing zip codes.
Trade talks surrounding Garnett are nothing new, they’ve swirled wildly in the past. But after season after season of heartbreak, including missing the playoffs this year, the whispered trade rumor is oh-so close to becoming breathtakingly real.
The Timberwolves insist they are not “actively shopping” for Garnett. They just confessed having contacted Boston, which gladly offered Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green and Sebastian Telfair.
If you’re wondering why Boston is offering a quartet of Celtics for one KG, chew this: Garnett has a $21 million a year salary until 2009. And for an NBA trade to work, the salaries of the players swapped have to be equal or comparable.
In case you’re wondering if Garnett needs any more cash, bite this: In his dozen years with Minnesota, Garnett’s total contract exceeded $226 million.
Well, if KG can’t win the Larry O’Brien trophy, he can always buy the Eiffel Tower.
A few years ago, as recent as 2004, the idea of giving Garnett away, would have been unthinkably silly. Like moving Lapu-Lapu’s statue from Mactan to Mandaue City.
Since then, however, Minnesota’ stock has slowly dropped, like an errant escalator. “The Wolves have plummeted in the standings, in ticket sales and in television ratings,” Minneapolis Star Tribune sports columnist Patrick Reusse wrote recently.
Once upon a time, Garnett’s window for winning an NBA title was wide as the San Fernando Valley. But he just turned 31 last May 19, and with 35,536 minutes of NBA mileage on his weary knees, that championship window is closing fast.
Wherever he goes, fans in Minnesota will certainly miss KG. They’ll miss his effervescent smile, his quiet dignity, and the bite in his game.
KG averaged 20.5 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 927 regular season games. He also appeared in 47 postseason contests, where he shined with averages of 22.3 points, 13.4 rebounds and five assists.
If KG were to end his title drought, though, it won’t be as a Celtic. You see, Boston is like bomb-ravaged Nagasaki after World War II. It needs decades, not years, to come to within a whiff of the NBA crown.
But a change, anywhere, will be a breath of fresh air for Garnett, who has been suffocated by failure and frustration in the lonely outpost that is Minnesota.
POSTSCRIPT. Back in the early ‘80s, my family used to run the canteen at the now-defunct Cebu Tennis Club in Banilad. There, I had the good fortune of knowing many of my dad Arturo and mom Erlinda’s dear friends.
I spoke to one of them the other night, Tony Araneta, who happens to be a fan of this column. Married to his lovely bride Charito, Tony told me that a few of CTC’s former regulars also read this column.
My thanks to Donald Ruiz, Joe and Heide Mesina, and Paquito Borromeo for putting up with the annoying babble that I dish here on occasion.
