CoolBreeze44 wrote:Plus, because of KG, a whole generation of young players learned the proper use of the term "mothafucka" on the basketball court. One of his best contributions to the game.
While true... a few others might have also learned about the value of PnR defense, unselfish ball movement and hard work in practice paying off in games.
Also true, but wouldn't it have been great if he could have done it with the same class as so many of the other all time greats?
Sure. It's pretty common for us to want more.
No person/player is perfect. Garnett had his flaws both on and off the court. We can dwell on the negative stuff... ignore it... or find some way to balance the two. I opt for the latter.
Garnett was never my favorite player. And some of it might have had to do with his histrionics on the court. But the guy stayed out of trouble. Was a top 20 - 25 player in NBA history. Earned All NBA and even an MVP award. Played HARD. Played unselfishly. Played with passion.
He was also a loud-mouthed, cursing, mean-spirited possible racist. Considering the other cats who've walked onto the Target Center court... I think the overall grade during Garnett's career was fairly solid. And I guess it depends who we're comparing him to...
Let's look at some other superstars (all time and from his era)...
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Kobe Bryant
- Karl Malone
- Charles Barkley
- Rick Barry
- James Kidd
- Allen Iverson
- Vince Carter
- Dwight Howard
- Scottie Pippen
- Larry Bird
- Julius Erving
All of these guys and others had incidents at one point or another. None of them were perfect. Neither was Garnett. Instead of focusing on all the things he wasn't... sometimes I'm just glad he wasn't the next Isiah Rider or Christian Laettner or Michael Beasley or Michael Olowakandi or Ricky Davis or Rashad McCants... you get the point.
Ah yes, the great James "don't bring a knife to a gunfight" Kidd. He had a difficult upbringing and an overbearing father. When he entered the draft at age 20, he was actually 27 years old thanks to some chicanery with his birth certificate. Folks seem to easily forget the 5 years he spent in jail. But what a player, what a player.....
khans2k5 wrote:KG put this franchise on the map. Not Glenn Taylor. The KG era is the only successful franchise build we've ever had. Glenn has been a massive fuck up his whole time as owner outside of the KG/Flip era. They deserve more IMO. KG can say whatever he wants. I'm not siding with the shit owner in this case even if KG and Flip never brought home a title.
At least you don't know them today as the New Orleans Wolves. At a minimum you can thank Glenn for that.
Thank you Cool for giving some balance to this conversation. I've criticized Taylor a lot for his major screw-ups. I happen to believe that hiring Thibs was one of those mistakes, but that remains to be seen. But the fact remains that the Wolves would not be here if not for Glen Taylor. No one else was willing purchase the franchise from Harv and Marv and keep the team here -- no one. In addition, Glen Taylor substantially upgraded our front office by replacing the hapless Stein with McHale and Flip. Moreover, Glen never hesitated to spend him money, which included stepping up and giving KG the biggest contract in NBA history at the time. Glen has never shied away from spending money. He gave KG the biggest contract in NBA history at the time. And he's spending to upgrade the Target Center and create the Mayo facility for players and staff. He's built a tremendous non-basketball staff who treat season ticket holders extremely well. Finally, with KG on the floor and Flip coaching, the Wolves had a long run of 50-win seasons and playoff appearances, culminating in the team's 2004 Western Conference Finals appearance. Not all bad.
So yes, Taylor's ownership includes a litany of boneheaded decisions and statements,including his ridiculous comment about KG tanking. That was asinine. But he kept the team here, substantially upgraded the team and organization from the Harv/Marv days, made some good hiring decisions and spend a ton of money in an effort to win and improve the franchise.
KG is putting this out there because he wants Glen to apologize so he can come back and play one or two more seasons. Listen to him talk about the playoffs and how amped up he is getting, Glen should say sorry wo we can add a lottery pick, spend a ton on free agents, and bring KG back to play playoff minutes next season
BloopOracle wrote:KG is putting this out there because he wants Glen to apologize so he can come back and play one or two more seasons. Listen to him talk about the playoffs and how amped up he is getting, Glen should say sorry wo we can add a lottery pick, spend a ton on free agents, and bring KG back to play playoff minutes next season
Bloop KG is done. He has said it and many times many of his friends including Gary Trent have said so also.
I do think he has some sort of agenda talking to 2 different media types in the same week. I'm not sure what that is but it's something.
khans2k5 wrote:KG put this franchise on the map. Not Glenn Taylor. The KG era is the only successful franchise build we've ever had. Glenn has been a massive fuck up his whole time as owner outside of the KG/Flip era. They deserve more IMO. KG can say whatever he wants. I'm not siding with the shit owner in this case even if KG and Flip never brought home a title.
At least you don't know them today as the New Orleans Wolves. At a minimum you can thank Glenn for that.
A majority of teams don't move so I'm not giving him credit for not moving. You don't get credit for doing something most of your peers do and frankly we wouldn't even be in talks like that if the franchise was run well.
Not your best take.
4 teams have moved in my lifetime (Brooklyn, OKC, Memphis and NO (Charlotte got an expansion team back). That leaves 26 teams. Bravo Glenn. What would we do without his grand leadership that kept this team here? He only did what 26 other teams have done in my lifetime and the value of his franchise has only gone up over 400% since he bought the team. What a guy!?
Khanzie, you should let this one go. The Wolves were as good as gone to New Orleans, and then Taylor entered the picture to save the day. You are absolutely right that Taylor deserves mucho criticism for the Wolves ineptitude. But I'll take that over losing yet another NBA team...
The reason why Glen sucks is because watching the team lose or watching the team leave have been your only two options.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:Plus, because of KG, a whole generation of young players learned the proper use of the term "mothafucka" on the basketball court. One of his best contributions to the game.
While true... a few others might have also learned about the value of PnR defense, unselfish ball movement and hard work in practice paying off in games.
Also true, but wouldn't it have been great if he could have done it with the same class as so many of the other all time greats?
that really doesn't make that big of a difference. Being the dickhead who won a title >>> being the choirboy who didn't, because if we've learned anything about this team is that they overvalue character. Even when Glen won the lottery, all he wanted was a young man with a good heart and a good mind, Admirable, but concerning the mission at hand, misguided.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:Plus, because of KG, a whole generation of young players learned the proper use of the term "mothafucka" on the basketball court. One of his best contributions to the game.
While true... a few others might have also learned about the value of PnR defense, unselfish ball movement and hard work in practice paying off in games.
Also true, but wouldn't it have been great if he could have done it with the same class as so many of the other all time greats?
that really doesn't make that big of a difference. Being the dickhead who won a title >>> being the choirboy who didn't, because if we've learned anything about this team is that they overvalue character. Even when Glen won the lottery, all he wanted was a young man with a good heart and a good mind, Admirable, but concerning the mission at hand, misguided.
That statement sums up the difference between the way you and I think. Does basketball really mean that much to you? That it trumps everything else including personal character? Few want to win as bad as I do, but there are some things that matter more to me.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:Plus, because of KG, a whole generation of young players learned the proper use of the term "mothafucka" on the basketball court. One of his best contributions to the game.
While true... a few others might have also learned about the value of PnR defense, unselfish ball movement and hard work in practice paying off in games.
Also true, but wouldn't it have been great if he could have done it with the same class as so many of the other all time greats?
that really doesn't make that big of a difference. Being the dickhead who won a title >>> being the choirboy who didn't, because if we've learned anything about this team is that they overvalue character. Even when Glen won the lottery, all he wanted was a young man with a good heart and a good mind, Admirable, but concerning the mission at hand, misguided.
That statement sums up the difference between the way you and I think. Does basketball really mean that much to you? That it trumps everything else including personal character? Few want to win as bad as I do, but there are some things that matter more to me.
Basketball and the NBA is a results oriented business. If you're under performing, no one will care about your character when they let you go. We've seen plenty of nice guys come through this team that we couldn't wait to see leave. I'm not saying don't value character at all, but in sports, fans have a habit of riding for guys who might be jerks-- as long as they're performing and as long as that jerk is on their team. On the flipside, losing enough games will take the smile out of you.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:Plus, because of KG, a whole generation of young players learned the proper use of the term "mothafucka" on the basketball court. One of his best contributions to the game.
While true... a few others might have also learned about the value of PnR defense, unselfish ball movement and hard work in practice paying off in games.
Also true, but wouldn't it have been great if he could have done it with the same class as so many of the other all time greats?
that really doesn't make that big of a difference. Being the dickhead who won a title >>> being the choirboy who didn't, because if we've learned anything about this team is that they overvalue character. Even when Glen won the lottery, all he wanted was a young man with a good heart and a good mind, Admirable, but concerning the mission at hand, misguided.
That statement sums up the difference between the way you and I think. Does basketball really mean that much to you? That it trumps everything else including personal character? Few want to win as bad as I do, but there are some things that matter more to me.
This is the NBA. It's filled with alpha male ass holes. If you can't get passed that you're watching the wrong sport.
