Why Garnett will never make it past the first round....

[FlipsSOE]

back in 1998, kevin garnett signed a multi year contract that would pay him close to 18 million a year. this for a guy who hadn't yet got his team past the first round, hadn't yet made an all star game, hadn't yet averaged 20 points a game and all the t-wolves were going on was hope and potential. i'll admit, they proved to be right in there guess. but guess what?? they shot themselves in the foot for it. this in turn, spawned owners to get very upset all around the NBA. the old salary cap argument ensued, in which players argued they wanted their fair share, and owners argued they were too greedy. not since the likes of......well never, had a player received such negative criticism in the history of the NBA.

this eventually spilled over to the board meetings between union officials and owners, and a few months later, the NBA went on strike. yes, remember, Jordan wanetd no part in those player relations, and announced just prior to the strike being resolved that he would not be returning to the Chicago Bulls. Perhaps, he didn't want to be made the escape goat, in which people would point their fingers at Michael and yell " He makes 36 million a year, let's attack him." But how could you? How could you compare six rings, MVP's, global expansion of the league, to a young 21 year old like Garnett?

Because of this, and with the new agreement in hand; the new salary cap around the league stated that only one player on each team could represent the highest % of total's team revenue. Meaning teams could have a various superstars, but some would have to take paycuts in order to achieve this. Garnett was not willing to, so thus Stephon Marbury had to be traded. Traded for point guard Terrell Brandon( who by the way is out the league now). What was previously known as the Larry Bird clause, was now being referred to as the Kevin Garnett clause, for the simple fact, that he almost single handedly, cause an NBA strike and forced owners to re-examine what they paid players. Which is what caused rookies (even the #1) to make no more than 3.1 million for his first three years. Owners were losing too much on false hope and pretenses. Names like Juwon Howard and Glenn Robinson come to mind. Not bad players, but players who certainly didn't deserve the huge contracts they were given coming straight into the league.

Now Garnett is surrounded by sczerbiak who if you make him put the ball on the floor is as useless as a spare tire on the back of a jet ski. Joe Smith, because of whom they made illegal transactions with, caused the Twolves to give up their first round picks for the last year, this year, and next. In 2005 when they do get a first round pick, Garnett will be going on 29. Not old by most standards, but you figure the Twolves will continue making a run for the playoffs and thus be out of lottery contention and be slated to a mid first round pick. You figure it'll take them three- four years before they get lucky, and get a good pick such as Amare, Kobe, or Tmac were. You couple that, with the fact that it'll take them then 2-3 years to fully develop in the league, and your looking at a 34-35 year old Garnett playing alongisde a formidable star.

You might ask yourself, why not trade players around Garnett and get the guy some help. Look at the roster, aside from Garnett, is there anyone on that team you really want? Be real now. Joe Smith is the 90's answer to Pervis Ellison. Wally Sczerbiak is one more Kobe Bryant facial away from being another long island dissappointment ala Tom Gugliotta, and Troy Hudson is a poor man's Sam Cassel, which isn't saying much, nor is it getting you much in return. So as we feel pity on Garnett, here's to another seven years of first round eliminations for the Wolves.