1. One Way Ticket?
The rumors are everywhere. Minnesota should trade Kevin Garnett and begin again with more youth and more talent in return. Sounds like a good idea, but if Garnett doesn’t ask for a trade, then it would be a slap in his face to ship him off. This is a player who has been the face of the T-Wolves for twelve years now. The Big Ticket has won an MVP, an All-Star MVP and has been on multiple All-Star teams, All-NBA First teams and All-Defensive teams. He has meant so much to the franchise over the years, both on and off the court, and he has been a model citizen his entire career. Don’t forget that Garnett was a groundbreaker when he entered the league out of high school as a kid; he was the first player to do so since Moses Malone. Since then, he has bled for this team, suffered for this team and, most importantly, he’s single handedly carried this team. Trading KG is more than a business move at this point. The organization owes him the courtesy of allowing him to finish his career anywhere he desires. He’s earned the right to demand a trade, should he desire. But, if Garnett doesn’t want to leave Minnesota, regardless of reasons, management should respect his wishes.
2. Will the Real Kobe Bryant Please Stand Up?
Kobe Bryant came into this season with a scoring average of 28.5 points per game over the last six seasons. Last year he averaged a career high 35.4. Currently, Bryant is averaging 22 points a game, his lowest average since his first year as a starter in 1998-99 when he was getting 19.9. He’s only averaging 14 shots a game despite being known to jack up 40 shots in a single contest. He did drop 81 on the Raptors, right? Even though Bryant’s scoring is down, the team is 7-3 overall and 5-3 when Kobe has played. Oddly enough, Bryant’s season high of 32 points came in an 11 point loss to Portland. Could it be that Bryant is finally turned the leaf from selfish ball-hog to dedicated leader? Possibly, but the Kobe of old will return if the winning in LA stops and the team begins to struggle. Bryant’s not one to sit back and watch his team fail. If he’s going to go down, he’ll want to go down shooting.
3. Kidd and Carter Combo
As far as guards go, Jason Kidd and Vince Carter might be the best tandem going. The two Nets are attributed with a league high average of points, rebounds and assists by a backcourt. Together they average 69.4 per game. The other teams to average 60 weren’t even close to Kidd and Carter. Phoenix’s Steve Nash and Leandro Barbosa average 61.8, Atlanta’s Joe Johnson and Tyronn Lue get 60.2; Detroit’s Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton are good for 60.2 and Milwaukee’s Michael Redd and Maurice Williams average 60. The Nets duo is the second highest scoring backcourt, the best rebounders and rank third in assists. They are the only backcourt in the league to rank in the top five of all three categories. Both guards are great in their own rights, but together they are simply dominant.
4. Mr. Wizard
Gilbert Arenas is good, in fact, he’s on his way to becoming the one of the greatest scorers ever to not be picked in the first round. Arenas was taken with the 31st pick in 2001-02 by Golden State and currently has 22 games of 40 points or more. That’s good for 4th on the list of non-first rounders with games of 40+ since 1966. Ahead of Arenas is George Gervin with 68, Nate Archibald with 37 and Alex English who has 33. Don’t expect The Assassin to catch Gervin any time soon but at his current pace he could surpass English this season. In nine games this season, Arenas has already scored 40 or more on three occasions. Currently, he ranks fifth in the league in scoring with 28.4 points per game. Health will be the major factor that could keep Arenas from moving up the list, however, over the last two seasons he has missed only a total of four games. At 24, Arenas should have long career ahead of him filled with open jumpers.
Monday’s Player of the Day: Dwight Howard @ Memphis 41 min, 24 pts (FG: 9-12, FT: 6-8), 23 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk
Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Los Angeles Clippers (6-2) @ Los Angeles Lakers (7-3) This is the match-up that many wanted last year during the playoffs. It’s been a long, long time, if ever, since the battle of LA was a competitive contest. Well, those days are over and these two teams now have a genuine feud with one another that is only going to intensify further this year. Not that it really matters, but the Lakers are 6-1 at home this year while the Clippers are 0-2 away from the Staples Center. Despite their record, the Clippers have to love their chances on the “road.”
2 replies on “Around the Rim: Mistake in Minnesota”
don’t trade the big ticket — I agree that the Wolves should not trade Garnett. Instead, the Wolves should pull a Riley: mortgage the future by bringing in some veterans and give Garnett a 1-2 year window to get a championship. It almost worked with Sam and Spree and it’s worth trying something similar again.
KG — That might be the only way to keep K.G. around. I read that he said he doesn’t want to be part of another rebuilding team. He definately needs more veteran help, I saw where Stephon Marbury might possibly return to the Wolves. But a high salary and his current low production could prevent the move.