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Long overdue. , they branded Robinson with this all the time and he had far more playoff success with much worse supporting casts than Garnett has typically had.
Yes this belongs in an NBA forum, but this article is for all the KG haters so despite the dour mood of the forum, some of you can maybe find some solace in this article....
Garnett gaining `loser' label
Great individual player shows no leadership qualities at Minnesota
April 25, 2005
Yes, we've heard this one before and it always sounds like a bad joke: Can the Minnesota Timberwolves win despite Kevin Garnett?
Ha-ha. Once again, Garnett led the NBA in rebounding. He also led the league in double-doubles and efficiency rating. And by averaging at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists per game for the sixth time, he passed old career leader Larry Bird in that versatility category.
But with the Timberwolves astonishingly missing the playoffs after being picked by many to win the championship this season, Garnett is developing a reputation as one of the league's biggest losers. In 10 years, he has participated in just 47 playoff games and made it out of the first round once. For all the criticism Dominique Wilkens got for playoff failures, his Atlanta teams were in the second round three of his first five seasons. And he was being knocked out by the `80s Celtics, one of the greatest teams ever.
Sure, one player doesn't make a team. But Garnett's behavior this season is telling and suggests at best he may be an unfit leader and at worst just a great talent without the ability to change a team.
Minnesota isn't getting any closer to a championship soon. Latrell Sprewell figures to leave as a free agent. Wally Szczerbiak is talking about being traded and has been criticized by general manager-coach Kevin McHale for talking about wanting to start. Sam Cassell is likely to be traded in a desperation move to get him out after his criticisms of ownership and teammates. (Cassell complained after the season about role players getting big contracts. "[Owner Glen Taylor] chose to pay Troy [Hudson], pay Trenton [Hassell], pay whoever else he paid. Guys who helped them get to where they got last year, he chose to ignore that aspect.") And Hudson again finished the season injured.
Garnett was unable to hold the team together, though that may not be his fault. No one has been able to reason with Sprewell and Cassell. Sprewell, who rejected Minnesota's three-year, $21 million offer with the famous "Got to feed the family" quote, figures to be fortunate to get a one-year exception deal in the off-season. So there is some justice.
But when the season ended, it was Garnett who blew out of the Timberwolves' locker room first, leaving his teammates to answer for the disappointing season. Say what you will about Michael Jordan, but even after the worst and most disappointing season endings with the Bulls, he always was there to stand up and face the public. And there was Garnett's two-faced responses about coach Flip Saunders.
Saunders long catered to Garnett, but after Saunders was fired, Garnett lauded McHale. "This is my third coach. Compared to the previous two, he is probably the most fulfilling," Garnett said. "He's like a breath of fresh air. He's given everybody, from A to Z, confidence. And it feels good. I know you [media] guys want to compare it to other things, but one thing we've been playing with is unbelievable confidence. He brings that to us. He's a motivator man. People respect him to the highest. When Mac talks, it's with a boldness. . . . He plays little games in practice that you wouldn't think would translate to the game, but they do. And it's working."
It did -- for a few days. Friends of Saunders say he was devastated after hearing Garnett's comments and was far more upset about them than being fired. So what happened late in the season when it became clear the Timberwolves wouldn't make the playoffs? Garnett backtracked again.
Asked about the coaching change, Garnett, with insincerity his slam dunk, said: "I don't think it was a good decision, but I'm not the boss around here. I think [Saunders is] not only a good coach but a great coach for another program. He'll help out a young superstar and teach him the game like he did me."
That, perhaps, gives one an inside look at what leadership is about on a Garnett team. Leadership is an elusive concept, sort of like a Supreme Court justice on pornography. You can't exactly describe it, but you know it when you see it. The dysfunctional behavior throughout the Timberwolves' team suggests Garnett merely was riding along. Being the MVP, as Garnett was last season, demands a bit more. Never has the team of a healthy, reigning MVP missed the playoffs as the Timberwolves did with Garnett not missing a game this season. It seems like Garnett has as much to explain as Sprewell and Cassell.
END OF ARTICLE
Long overdue. , they branded Robinson with this all the time and he had far more playoff success with much worse supporting casts than Garnett has typically had.
I thought about DRob's bad rap, too. Of course, a healthy DRob team never missed the post season. David accomplished a lot more, with much less supporting cast, than K-Net has at this point.
Agreed.
Damn, I really don't like Garnett, he seems like a little to me, always complaining about something or other. He never seems to take the blame for anything. If anything, it was his fault for the Timberwolves not making the post season! A leader is supposed to be there through thick and thin, and I'm not just talking about puting up numbers, which he did. I'm talking about pulling the team together and telling Cassell and Sprewell to shut the up! I guess he just needs to grow a pair of hairy pelotas and carry on! Punk Ass !
And people still chime about how "great" a guy this foul-mouthed punk ass is supposed to be.
KG is going to LA next season......
Caron/Odom for Wally/KG and whatever makes the salaries work.
I don't think the Kobe, KG tandem will work! They both need the ball alot to be effective.
Why are we worrying about Garnett losing when we have our Spurs losing to worry about.
yeah Kobe and Shaq wouldn't work because they need the ball too much....it's pure pipe anyways.....
Link?
Why would two punk ass es who couldn't lead their respective teams to the playoffs be any more effective together?
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune....=cs-columnists
thats the link to the article, it also has some mini stories after the KG is a loser article
What shocks me is that it's taken this long for KG to gain that label.
It basically has taken a dslapping in the face for people to realize this guy's a loser.
Keving Garnett after every other game: *starts crying* im just sick of losing man...
Sam Smith wrote that, am i right?
The same guy who voted for JON for MVP over KG last year? Laughable
The same guy who was pissed off after KG didn't grant him a pregame interview his sophmore season and never let the grudge go?
The same guy who, although trashes him keeps writing rediculous trade scenario's which basically involve the entire Bulls team, save one or two guys, for KG?
Reilly he is not.
that's not cool man. And us Nugget fans hate the guy.
Trade Kobe for KG.
Put Phil Jackson back in LA and then you would have a team that can compete.
Tim Duncan can win 58 games with a supporting cast of a 36-year-old center, an 18-year-old point guard, and Steve Smith.
David Robinson could win 59 games with Will Perdue and Vinny Del Negro as starters.
Add Shaq to any team and they are instant le contenders.
Hakeem Olajuwon almost singlehandedly won two championships.
Karl Malone never had anybody but John Stockton to help him, and he made two Finals in Utah and won year in and year out. He was the heart and soul of the 2004 Lakers West champions.
Those are great big men.
The only way Kevin Garnett can do as much as win 55+ games or advance in the playoffs is if his team gets loaded with veteran All-Stars, and then it only works for one year before everybody is at each other's throats. He's had Tom Gugliotta, Stephon Marbury, Terrell Brandon, Wally Szczerbiak, Sam Cassell, and Latrell Sprewell as teammates, and he has one good season to show for it. And yet, SLAM magazine and the hip-hop community and the fawning media never holds him accountable, lifting him up as some longsuffering saint who has been let down by those around him. He is never expected to lead anything -- he is just called a leader because he appeals to the right demographic.
He is possibly the most overrated player in decades.
But... but... it's all about the Numbers, right?
Seriously, I don't think you can call Kevin Garnett a "bad" player. But something is obviously wrong. I wonder if the T-Wolves could lure Phil Jackson to coach him? Somehow PJ has the ability to get players to move from "failure" to "Champions". I don't know how he does it, but it'll be very interesting to watch where he goes next year.
He's not going anywhere with "Kandiman: Defensive Stopper, Upside Potential"
Out of all those guys you named, how many were defensive stoppers? How many were above average defenders? Sam Cassell and Wally were all stars in years they played very little defense. ONCE IN THERE CAREER. Suddenly guys like Wally, a one time allstar and John Stockton, a HOF'er are similar supporting casts? You might forget that Wally made the AS team that year as a SHOOTING GUARD. The guy can't ever guard today's power forwards out on the perimeter, how do you think he fared with the reggie millers, Kobe Bryant etc... of yore? Why don't you run the highlight film of devean, fox, and kobe shredding him AND locking him down two years ago in the playoffs again?
You mention John Stockton as if he's an afterthought. Although very dirty, he relentlessly played defense tougher than someone like him should have been able to.
You wonder why i've hated Flip Saunders for nearly a decade now? KG in SA would have won at LEAST two rings, , he would fit into that system better than Duncan does.
Sickdsm, BTW, how are you enjoying the playoffs???
Sickdsm, BTW, how are you enjoying the playoffs???
Your way of saying you don't have anything relevant to say?
Imagine Tim playing all year like he did in game one. Except even though he's hurt he's still putting up good numbers. But everyone is ing about his play.
Knee tendinitis is a much less sever injury than a second degree ankle sprain that is still not fully heeled. Tim is a low post player, and low post players pivot and need good footwork, can't have that with a bad ankle.
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