The T'Wolves on Thursday traded for Nets F Kevin Garnett, whose return to the team "could provide a box-office boost," according to Andy Greder of the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS. The team currently ranks next-to-last in league attendance. Garnett played his first 12 NBA seasons with the team before traded to the Celtics in '07, and he has "received boisterous greetings in his returns to Target Center." T'Wolves coach and President of Basketball Operations Flip Saunders said that Garnett "will debut Wednesday" for the team's home game against the Wizards. The move also "helps set the table for Garnett's post-playing plans." He said in November that he "would like to one day buy" the T'Wolves. However, team Owner Glen Taylor said that this move is "about the present" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 2/20). The AP's Jon Krawczynski writes Saunders "has had his eye on Garnett -- the only true superstar in the franchise's 26-year history -- for two years, ever since he returned to the organization." The majority of T'Wolves fans who "equate Garnett with the only tangible success the franchise has ever had rejoiced at the news" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/20). ESPN.com’s Marc Stein said, “I’m a nostalgic sap, so I love this story.” Stein: “I don’t care how bad the Wolves are going to be for the rest of this season, I want to see it. I want to see what it looks like to see Kevin Garnett back in Minnesota” (“Olbermann,” ESPN2, 2/19). Meanwhile, in Minneapolis, Jerry Zgoda in a front-page piece notes Garnett "isn’t coming back merely to play out the season’s remaining 29 games." A source said that he is "expected to sign an extension this summer to play probably for another two seasons" after his current $12M contract expires (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/20).
THIS STARTS LATER: The 76ers made several moves Thursday, including trading G Michael Carter-Williams to the Bucks, and in Philadelphia, John Smallwood writes someone in the team's marketing department clearly "moved a bit too quickly" after announcing Tuesday a "new slogan to kick off" the team's '15-16 season-ticket campaign. The image read, "This Starts Now," and featured "franchise face" Carter-Williams, among others. Smallwood: "This isn't a problem. Airbrush out the photo of Carter-Williams and change the slogan to 'This Starts Now -- All Over Again From The Beginning When We Asked You To Build This Together With Us.'" Now we know why "nobody in the Sixers organization would put a timetable on when they thought this reclamation project would reap dividends" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 2/20). L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke said the 76ers' front office is “snubbing their noses in the faces of these fans” with their latest flurry of trades. Plaschke: “They’re saying this is all about principle and analytics and everything. How about winning some games? How about putting an entertaining team on the floor?” ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 2/19). ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said of the 76ers, "They get a player who’s any good at all, and in three weeks they get rid of him. What are they doing? There ought to be an investigation into that” (“PTI,” ESPN, 2/19).
