The thing about him is that he makes such a great commercial. He plays with such effort and emotion that you want him to be considered the best player in the NBA. His talent level is extraordinary. However what has happened this season confirms what many have always thought.
Kevin Garnett lacks that “something” the great ones possess.Does anyone think Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson, or Larry Bird would have sat by and watched Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell ruin a season the way Kevin Garnett has? Of course they wouldn’t. Cassell and Sprewell have openly put it in the tank to the point that the Timberwolves are 25-27. A great coach in Flip Saunders paid for it with his job over the weekend. However in my opinion, the Timberwolves season long ineptitude is not the fault of Saunders, but of one man……
Kevin Garnett.
The fact that Sprewell and Cassell have openly tanked a season on Kevin Garnett’s watch speaks volumes about Garnett’s leadership skills. Like it or not, basketball is different from football and baseball. Star players take more heat if they don’t win because of the way one player can shape a team. How has there not been a fistfight at practice yet? KG can toss a haymaker at Rick Rickert in a summer pickup game but he will not confront Sprewell or Cassell. Garnett has deferred far too long to these two veterans. They did not listen to Flip Saunders and they will not listen to Kevin McHale. The challenge has to come from Kevin Garnett.
KG is averaging 22 and 14 this season. If his team does not make the playoffs, those great numbers will not matter. Garnett and his supporters like to think that he belongs in that rung of superstars with Duncan, Shaq, and Kobe. Should he allow the Timberwolves to miss the playoffs and hit “lottery” he not only gets excluded from being in a discussion with that group but he gets passed by the young bucks in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Like it or not, you cannot be considered a top five player in my mind and in many other’s minds if you do not get your team to the postseason. Especially when you have a team as loaded as the Minnesota Timberwolves. KG should have this crew worrying about winning homecourt advantage, not worried about missing the postseason. Allowing Sprewell and Cassell to poison the locker room falls on his shoulders.
There are still thirty games left for the Minnesota Timberwolves to salvage their season. At 25-27, they probably need to go 20-10 down the stretch if they want to have a shot of getting into the postseason. This can easily happen with the talent they have in Minnesota. However KG is the guy who has to will it. He needs to get in the faces of Spree and Sam I Am and challenge them to play hard. He needs to verbally lead and get this team into gear. The clock is ticking on this superstar.
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