Lakers Game Aftermath

Ugh.

After watching tonight's game against the Lakers, I'm finally ready to say that Kevin Garnett should be traded. Explanation forthcoming....

For 3 quarters, the Minnesota Timberwolves looked like an excellent basketball team. They were scrappy, diving for loose balls, they were moving the ball well, and it looked as though they were on their way to a solid victory against a very good Lakers team. Then, the 4th quarter happened.

In the first stages of the 4th quarter, the Wolves were up 12 points.....and then LA goes on a huge run and ends up winning by 17. The Wolves went from being up 12 to down 17 in the span of about 10 minutes. And it all came down to passion. The Wolves played an emotionless, passionless 4th quarter. No longer were Wolves moving the ball or trying to pressure on defense.....it looked as though either they were waiting for time to run out, or that they just didn't care. KG deserves better than that.

The coaching was horrendous. With KG on the bench, the Wolves' 12 point lead started to shrink, and yet by the time KG was brought back into the game, the Wolves had not only given up the lead, they were down by 4 or 5. Why is a guy like Justin Reed in the game with 4 minutes left in the game when you're down now by 9 or 10? He's a decent player, but the guy is not exactly an offensive juggernaut. The Wolves have had trouble keeping leads, so why not bring your best player in the very second it looks as though the momentum is shifting?

It didn't even seem like KG cared. Once he got into the game, it wasn't as if he started asserting himself and demanding the ball.....he seemed passive and resigned to the fact that the Wolves had given up another one. Then, the boo birds came out. I haven't heard very many boos at the Target Center, but this one was well deserved. The Lakers played a good 4th quarter, but the Wolves gave it away without much of a fuss.

Thus, it's time to trade Kevin Garnett. I listened to a great conversation on the Chad Hartman show today where he talked about how if we didn't get Iverson, Garnett should probably be moved. This team would be lucky to make the playoffs, let alone contend for a championship. The Wolves aren't going anywhere. Kevin Garnett isn't going anywhere. And with so many horrible contracts, we won't be going anywhere in the foreseeable future.

KG's not getting any younger. Wolves fans aren't getting any more patient. You look at the Wolves from every standpoint, and there's very little to get excited about. The players look apathetic. The coach looks overwhelmed. The management looks foolish. The fans look bored. For the sake of the franchise, it's time to shake things up. Also mentioned on the Chad Hartman show was that the worst thing that could happen to this team is that we have a mediocre to average season.....where we barely miss the playoffs, but end up 12 or 13 in the draft. Due to our fabulous Marko Jaric trade, we still owe a pick to the Clippers, but it's lottery (1-10) protected. If things go the way they're going now (around .500), we'll end up with no pick in the most stacked draft in years. Great.

The only solution I can think of is to trade Garnett, and trade him now. Everyone wants to feel bad for KG and how management has done a horrible job, but there's more to it than that. For one, he's the highest paid player in the game, so if he is crying, it's all the way to the bank. Second, if you look at two of the most criticized Wolves' signings, Joe Smith and Troy Hudson, they were done with the support of Kevin Garnett. Troy Hudson is making more than 5 million dollars this year, and he didn't even play in tonight's game. It's ironic that Joe Smith would be included in the Iverson trade....poetic justice, you might say.

The path that the Wolves should take is, ironically, that of the Chicago Bulls, because that's who the Wolves most likely trading partner would be. The Bulls, for a period of 4 or 5 years after Jordan retired, were horrible, but they stocked up on young talent, and now they're a contender in the East and were able to go out and get a big name star like Ben Wallace. The deal I've heard thrown out (check it out on ESPN.com's trade checker, and add a first round, likely lottery draft pick from the Knicks) makes total sense to me. Look at all the cap flexibility the Wolves would have after this year with the 2 expiring contracts of PJ Brown and Michael Sweetney. Look at the young talent we'd have in Foye, Smith, Gordon, McCants, Thomas, and whoever we picked up in this year's draft. It makes sense to me.

I know Kevin has been extremely loyal, but the team is bigger than Kevin, and this team, with Kevin Garnett, is going nowhere. Tonight's game was a perfect example of why trading Kevin Garnett would benefit both the Wolves and KG.....KG would get a chance to play for a championship, and the Wolves would move on with fresh talent.

It'd be something to get excited about on both sides. Things certainly aren't exciting now.