AbeVigodaLive wrote:longstrangetrip wrote:Abe, I think we need to look both at stats and at the players' testimonials to really assess the impact KG had on the Nets bigs. Plumlee credits KG for his improved play, and his numbers with and without him back up his assertion. Further, Jarret Jack talks about how KG was constantly coaching Plumlee when they were on the court together (knowing KG's style, "coaching" may have bordered on "harassing" at times) And I saw the same thing in the Portland and Washington games I went to this season. KG never stops coaching when he is on the court, both on offense and defense, and it makes the other 4 players on the court with him better. That has to have something to do with why we outscored our opponents in the 5 games KG played in this year. Big deal, some might say. But a 16-win team outscoring its opponent in a certain subset of its games is a big deal. and needs to be analyzed.
One of the most frustrating parts of the season for most of us was watching our young guys (AB, Zach, Payne, Bazz, Dieng) acting like young guys...especially on defense. KG knows where they need to be on defense and isn't shy about telling them. How can that be a bad thing? KG's presence on the court is exactly what Plumlee needed, and it's exactly what this young team needs.
Nobody has ever claimed it's a bad thing.
But there are other factors. How much will Garnett cost? How much will he play? When he's not playing, does he stick around the team... or rest in California?
As for Plumlee... I'm sure Garnett helped him when he was there. But it's not like the guy was a puppet who only did what Garnett told him to do. The guy had to have SOME instincts. He had to be able to retain SOMETHING. .
When Plumlee was rolling, Lopez was on the bench. When those roles reversed, Plumlee played less and produced less. Both guys seemed to thrive when they were given heavier minutes. That seems relevant and can be backed up a bit. Talking about Garnett's impact is a bit more intangible or anecdotal or esoteric.
Yeah, we'll never know if KG had as much of an impact on Plumlee as he and Jarrett Jack said. But it's more difficult to argue that KG didn't have a significant positive impact on the Wolves in the five games he was on the court. They were more active on offense and defense, and they outscored some pretty good opponents...good enough for me.
The other issues you raise are how much will he cost, how much will he play, and where will he be on his off nights. Of those three questions, I'm only concerned about the second one. I think KG will get 2 years at anywhere between $5-10 million, and I don't think it matters much where that number eventually falls. Because of existing roster commitments and upcoming draft picks, I don't see how the Wolves can participate in the free agent marketplace this year, so 2015 cap space is not an issue. And the 2016 cap is projected to increase so much that cap space shouldn't be an issue that year either. It hurts Taylor's pocketbook if he pays KG 10 rather than 5, but I don't think his contract is an issue fans have to worry about.
So, we know KG will miss some games next year and that he was not on the bench for several games this past year, so where will he be on his off days next year? I don't think it matters much. I'm a big advocate of KG as an on-court coach and player developer, but I have never bought into the off-court mentoring narrative. That said, I still would like to see him on the bench during off-night games, because of the bench instruction he can provide to our youngsters. If you watched our bench last year, the young guys were like sponges absorbing what KG was telling them. And I think KG will be on the bench on his off-nights next year. I don't know for sure that he (and Flip) were faking the knee injury, but I have been told that he was quite sick with the flu for about ten days and that, having so few healthy players, Flip told him to stay away. KG is a basketball junkie and needs to be where the action is. If he's not sick, he will either be on the court or on the bench.
So the most important issue is this: How many minutes will he play? We don't know, of course, but if the Wolves are in a playoff race, I see KG playing 50-60 games for about 20 minutes per night. And that would be fine with me. I think he will miss one of the games in most of the back to backs, and a few other games just for rest purposes. But if Flip stays true to the 20-minute plan, I don't think KG will have to miss many games.
