[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

I think most of us would agree that he would probably have more rings. We all know about KG’s fierce loyalty. He stayed in Minnesota about 4 years longer than he should have. 2004 was the pinnacle of his career, his best season, his MVP season and the height of his prime. Of course he won the championship in 2008 with the Celtics, but he was already in the decline of his career. The Timberwolves made the Western Conference Finals with Wally World, Trenton Hassell and Sam Cassell as the second and third and fourth best players. It’s pretty bad when you’re a mega star in a small market and Wally World is the best player that you ever played with. Of course there was Stephon Marbury, but he didn’t stick around long enough. If Steph had stayed in Minny, the Stephon and KG shows could have wreaked havoc on the West for many many years. The Wolves just have no idea how to surround their stars with talent. You can’t blame Love one bit for leaving Minny. He just wants to win and with Ricky Rubio and Shabazz, that just isn’t going to happen. Wolves should be haunted by not surrounding KG with pieces and they will be haunted by not doing the same with Love.

[BenchWarmerParticipant]

Latrell Sprewell!!!!!!

[BenchWarmerParticipant]

Latrell Sprewell!!!!!!

[goddagParticipant]

You’re forgetting one name from the best team we had with KG. Latrell Sprewell. Now there was one of the biggest bone heads of all-times. MN offered him a contract of like 9 million and he found it offensive. And made his idiotic speech about not being able to feed his family with it, and didn’t sign. The fool never did sign or play with an NBA team after that, and was broke and had his so called big boat and house taken from him.
And that was a few years after he chocked his coach.
So yea, that team was KG, Cassell, and Sprewell as the main three. They had their picture on the front of SI that year.

[goddagParticipant]

You’re forgetting one name from the best team we had with KG. Latrell Sprewell. Now there was one of the biggest bone heads of all-times. MN offered him a contract of like 9 million and he found it offensive. And made his idiotic speech about not being able to feed his family with it, and didn’t sign. The fool never did sign or play with an NBA team after that, and was broke and had his so called big boat and house taken from him.
And that was a few years after he chocked his coach.
So yea, that team was KG, Cassell, and Sprewell as the main three. They had their picture on the front of SI that year.

[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

 I completely forgot about Spree……damnit, lemee rephrase.  When your second best player chokes coaches, it might be time to leave.

[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

 I completely forgot about Spree……damnit, lemee rephrase.  When your second best player chokes coaches, it might be time to leave.

[dcaseParticipant]

Wally was probably the 4th best player on that 2004 Timbervolves team.  Cassel was arguably their second best player (20pts/7asst) and Spreewell averaged around 17pts/game. 

Also – the spreweel choking incident occured 7 years prior to his time with the Wolves.

[dcaseParticipant]

Wally was probably the 4th best player on that 2004 Timbervolves team.  Cassel was arguably their second best player (20pts/7asst) and Spreewell averaged around 17pts/game. 

Also – the spreweel choking incident occured 7 years prior to his time with the Wolves.

[Lafferty DanielParticipant]

Biggest difference between Garnett and Love is that casual Minnesota basketball fans truly cared about KG as a person and player.  They viewed Garnett the same way they viewed Kirby Puckett, with admiration.  Two guys that actually enjoyed playing in Minneapolis and embraced the community.  Kevin Love on the other hand never won the hearts of fans, for whatever reason.   

I remember how close the Wolves were to reaching the finals in 2004.  Garnett, Cassell, and yes, Sprewell were a great core at the time.  I think Minnesota could’ve even beaten the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals if Cassell wasn’t injured.  What could’ve been…

Looking back, it’s easy to blame guys like David Kahn for all the screw ups.  I think Glen Taylor needs to go.  It’s tough to think of a worse owner in the NBA.  The damage he’s done to his own franchise is amazing.

Luckily for Wolves fans, they have a reason to be optimistic again with the arrival of Wiggins.  Hopefully he can be the next KG in terms of bringing in casual fans for his work on and off the court.  Exciting times!

[Lafferty DanielParticipant]

Biggest difference between Garnett and Love is that casual Minnesota basketball fans truly cared about KG as a person and player.  They viewed Garnett the same way they viewed Kirby Puckett, with admiration.  Two guys that actually enjoyed playing in Minneapolis and embraced the community.  Kevin Love on the other hand never won the hearts of fans, for whatever reason.   

I remember how close the Wolves were to reaching the finals in 2004.  Garnett, Cassell, and yes, Sprewell were a great core at the time.  I think Minnesota could’ve even beaten the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals if Cassell wasn’t injured.  What could’ve been…

Looking back, it’s easy to blame guys like David Kahn for all the screw ups.  I think Glen Taylor needs to go.  It’s tough to think of a worse owner in the NBA.  The damage he’s done to his own franchise is amazing.

Luckily for Wolves fans, they have a reason to be optimistic again with the arrival of Wiggins.  Hopefully he can be the next KG in terms of bringing in casual fans for his work on and off the court.  Exciting times!

[dcaseParticipant]

As a laker fan, it pains me to think that Jim Buss might start to rival Taylor and possibly take over the "worst" owner title in the near future.  Jim is nothing like his father (who was one of the greatest owners) and seems intent on keeping the Lakers irrelevant.

[dcaseParticipant]

As a laker fan, it pains me to think that Jim Buss might start to rival Taylor and possibly take over the "worst" owner title in the near future.  Jim is nothing like his father (who was one of the greatest owners) and seems intent on keeping the Lakers irrelevant.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

 KG had some pretty good teams while he was in Minnesota.  Love hasn’t.  Loyalty is important to some players.  Obviously less important today with all the bullsh*t with finding the nearest door and easiest path to a championship.  But KG wanted to win in Minnesota and gave it his best.  Gotta give him props for that.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

 KG had some pretty good teams while he was in Minnesota.  Love hasn’t.  Loyalty is important to some players.  Obviously less important today with all the bullsh*t with finding the nearest door and easiest path to a championship.  But KG wanted to win in Minnesota and gave it his best.  Gotta give him props for that.

[llperez]

 from what ive read, love never demanded a trade. He simply informed the team that he would not be resigning when his free agency came up. At that point, it becasme obvious a trade was necessary to not lose him for nothing. As a player with an expiring contract, he has that right. 

[llperez]

 from what ive read, love never demanded a trade. He simply informed the team that he would not be resigning when his free agency came up. At that point, it becasme obvious a trade was necessary to not lose him for nothing. As a player with an expiring contract, he has that right. 

[frogmanParticipant]

That’s still pretty much demanding to be traded…

[frogmanParticipant]

That’s still pretty much demanding to be traded…

[llperez]

 no it is not. He is saying im not resigning. He has that right as an upcoming free agent. Demanding a trade is turning your back on the contract you signed and being a quitter. Being honest with the team that it is in their best interest to trade you is far from being disoloyal and demanding a trade.

[llperez]

 no it is not. He is saying im not resigning. He has that right as an upcoming free agent. Demanding a trade is turning your back on the contract you signed and being a quitter. Being honest with the team that it is in their best interest to trade you is far from being disoloyal and demanding a trade.

[HitsterParticipant]

 KG was a legit MVP contender during his first year at Boston when he won the DPOY award, so he was hardly in decline then.

[HitsterParticipant]

 KG was a legit MVP contender during his first year at Boston when he won the DPOY award, so he was hardly in decline then.

[Buckets412Participant]

And to add, well into his prime, he brought the Celtics a championship in his FIRST season with the team. Certainly a number of teams he could have ‘put over the edge’. 

First post, here……Younger Celtics fan from Mass. Most dominant player I have ever watched in NBA is Shaq. Most dominant college player I’ve watched would have to say Melo….waiting for someone to step up and be a true rival to Lebron for the rest of his carrer! Thought Tyrke Evans had the potential to be a slightly larger D-Wade! 

 

 

[Buckets412Participant]

And to add, well into his prime, he brought the Celtics a championship in his FIRST season with the team. Certainly a number of teams he could have ‘put over the edge’. 

First post, here……Younger Celtics fan from Mass. Most dominant player I have ever watched in NBA is Shaq. Most dominant college player I’ve watched would have to say Melo….waiting for someone to step up and be a true rival to Lebron for the rest of his carrer! Thought Tyrke Evans had the potential to be a slightly larger D-Wade! 

 

 

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

"He just wants to win"

It is remarkable that Kevin Love accomplishes nothing as the lead dog of a team, pulls a Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard demand, and comes off unscathed by the basketball media and fans. If you want to win, you play defense. He didn’t, and wanted the team to play a certain way to get numbers, then now has blamed his supporting cast that they never won. Kevin Martin who was the third leading scorer on a 60-win OKC team the year before. Corey Brewer who was a productive contributor on a 57-win Denver team the year before. JJ Barea was a valuable scoring guard off the bench for the championship winning Mavericks team in 2011. Mbah a Moute who was the ace defender on some really good defensive teams in Milwaukee from 2010 to 2012. Chase Budinger was a contributor on +.500 Rocket teams two and three years ago. Is the problem Nikola Pekovic? No one would ever argue that as there are no shortage of teams who would take him and his contract in a heartbeat. They had a $70 million payroll because they had talent, and you cannot compare it to when Minnesota lost 1st round picks and failed to come to terms with Spree, Marbury, and Cassell. They built something with Kevin Garnett and failed to maintain it. One can easily remember Minnesota growing around Kevin Garnett, and seeing him mature as a player as they grew. They never built anything here. They never finished better than 10th in the West. NBA Basketball is not like baseball, football, or soccer. A truly awful team (think Sixers, Bucks, 2012 and 2013 Bobcats) still need to score 85 if they are to lose 85-110. Numbers have to be accumulated, and because the possession flips every 15-24 seconds, it makes it so that every possession is not as valuable as one in another sport. Falling behind by 10 in the NBA is not the end of the world, and it happens to every single team on a regular basis. Falling behind by 4 or 5 scores in the other team sports is a disaster. Losing 100-110 as Philly averaged is not really better than Charlotte averaging a 85-101 loss a couple years ago. Last year’s terrible Lakers played fast. The pace and opportunity made it so Jodie Meeks averaged 16 points per game and Nick Young 18. What does it mean other than Detroit and the Lakers will write a bigger check for them this winter? Data and statistics have their place, but top players are revealed in May and June because winning matters. Has the true mark of Zach Randolph been his early career when he accumulated huge numbers on bad teams, or has it been what he has done in the playoffs with Memphis? If presented with that choice, nobody would think twice. Yet, the slower pace and lesser numbers are the reason he does not get the "Top X player in the league" talk from July to April when apparently people forget what they see in May and June. 

Kevin Love is a good player. One figures he will play the Chris Bosh-role in Cleveland, apparently minus anyone critizing him. He will be better as a 3-point shooter, and worse defensively. How that ends up balancing out for the team is a reason to watch the season play out. If he actually is a competent defensive player who is more interested in stepping in to cut off a drive than look for a rebound, then he can be a better player even if his numbers decline. It is going to be really interesting to see David Blatt coach. It is an interesting mix Just using the pace metric, LeBron has never played on a team that played as many possessions per game as the slowest Kevin Love squad, and only by a tick the slowest Kyrie Irving team (91.3 and 91.4). At what point does LeBron have to start tapering back his minutes and ungodly role. He played in 381 games in Miami (regular season and playoffs for 95 per year with a contracted 66-game season in the middle) and played 14,796 minutes (38.8 per game average). That is 2,863 more minutes in the last four years than Kevin Love has played in six. It is 1,200 minutes per year than the most minutes Kyrie Irving has ever played in his career. If they want to instill a championship contender defense, can they get away with playing fast and loose in the regular season when really only LeBron, Varejao, and Marion figure to be the rotation players who know what contender defense is? One figures it cannot be this season as the younger Cavs are going to have a lot to learn, but it is going to have to come at some point. There are not very many players in history who have played this many games and this many minutes with such a heavy role on both ends to compare, and there has never been a physical being like LeBron, but either the prevention or the injury is probably going to happen sooner rather than later.   

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

"He just wants to win"

It is remarkable that Kevin Love accomplishes nothing as the lead dog of a team, pulls a Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard demand, and comes off unscathed by the basketball media and fans. If you want to win, you play defense. He didn’t, and wanted the team to play a certain way to get numbers, then now has blamed his supporting cast that they never won. Kevin Martin who was the third leading scorer on a 60-win OKC team the year before. Corey Brewer who was a productive contributor on a 57-win Denver team the year before. JJ Barea was a valuable scoring guard off the bench for the championship winning Mavericks team in 2011. Mbah a Moute who was the ace defender on some really good defensive teams in Milwaukee from 2010 to 2012. Chase Budinger was a contributor on +.500 Rocket teams two and three years ago. Is the problem Nikola Pekovic? No one would ever argue that as there are no shortage of teams who would take him and his contract in a heartbeat. They had a $70 million payroll because they had talent, and you cannot compare it to when Minnesota lost 1st round picks and failed to come to terms with Spree, Marbury, and Cassell. They built something with Kevin Garnett and failed to maintain it. One can easily remember Minnesota growing around Kevin Garnett, and seeing him mature as a player as they grew. They never built anything here. They never finished better than 10th in the West. NBA Basketball is not like baseball, football, or soccer. A truly awful team (think Sixers, Bucks, 2012 and 2013 Bobcats) still need to score 85 if they are to lose 85-110. Numbers have to be accumulated, and because the possession flips every 15-24 seconds, it makes it so that every possession is not as valuable as one in another sport. Falling behind by 10 in the NBA is not the end of the world, and it happens to every single team on a regular basis. Falling behind by 4 or 5 scores in the other team sports is a disaster. Losing 100-110 as Philly averaged is not really better than Charlotte averaging a 85-101 loss a couple years ago. Last year’s terrible Lakers played fast. The pace and opportunity made it so Jodie Meeks averaged 16 points per game and Nick Young 18. What does it mean other than Detroit and the Lakers will write a bigger check for them this winter? Data and statistics have their place, but top players are revealed in May and June because winning matters. Has the true mark of Zach Randolph been his early career when he accumulated huge numbers on bad teams, or has it been what he has done in the playoffs with Memphis? If presented with that choice, nobody would think twice. Yet, the slower pace and lesser numbers are the reason he does not get the "Top X player in the league" talk from July to April when apparently people forget what they see in May and June. 

Kevin Love is a good player. One figures he will play the Chris Bosh-role in Cleveland, apparently minus anyone critizing him. He will be better as a 3-point shooter, and worse defensively. How that ends up balancing out for the team is a reason to watch the season play out. If he actually is a competent defensive player who is more interested in stepping in to cut off a drive than look for a rebound, then he can be a better player even if his numbers decline. It is going to be really interesting to see David Blatt coach. It is an interesting mix Just using the pace metric, LeBron has never played on a team that played as many possessions per game as the slowest Kevin Love squad, and only by a tick the slowest Kyrie Irving team (91.3 and 91.4). At what point does LeBron have to start tapering back his minutes and ungodly role. He played in 381 games in Miami (regular season and playoffs for 95 per year with a contracted 66-game season in the middle) and played 14,796 minutes (38.8 per game average). That is 2,863 more minutes in the last four years than Kevin Love has played in six. It is 1,200 minutes per year than the most minutes Kyrie Irving has ever played in his career. If they want to instill a championship contender defense, can they get away with playing fast and loose in the regular season when really only LeBron, Varejao, and Marion figure to be the rotation players who know what contender defense is? One figures it cannot be this season as the younger Cavs are going to have a lot to learn, but it is going to have to come at some point. There are not very many players in history who have played this many games and this many minutes with such a heavy role on both ends to compare, and there has never been a physical being like LeBron, but either the prevention or the injury is probably going to happen sooner rather than later.   

[Author]

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