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Tickets at Ticket Master
Don't be surprised if meteorologists notice a mysterious cold front blowing through the Great Plains and Midwest this afternoon. It might just be a collective sigh of relief from basketball fans in Minnesota.
By signing Kevin Garnett to a contract extension believed to be worth around $100 million over five years, the Timberwolves did more than lock up their franchise player through 2009. They also avoided a major headache and distraction this season.
Like Chris Webber and Jason Kidd in years past, Garnett would have been swamped over the next eight months with queries about his future. In every NBA city, he and teammates would be asked the same questions over and over. Wouldn't he like to play in ticketmaster Chicago (his home town!) or New York (big market!) or Cleveland (with LeBron!) ...
Eventually it could
well have taken a toll on Garnett's focus and concentration.
Now he and the rest of the new Fun Police -- which includes Sam Cassell, Latrell
Sprewell and Michael Olowokandi can get on with their mission of leading the
T'wolves past the first round of the playoffs.
Minnesota owner Glen Taylor and GM Kevin McHale have been criticized for some bad moves in the past (does the name Joe Smith ring a bell?), but they deserve credit for this one. While Garnett was grandfathered under the old CBA and technically could have demanded a $283 million extension, they knew he was not likely to get anything close to that amount on the open market. After all, only three teams (Utah, Denver, L.A. Clippers) expect to be as much as $10 million under the salary cap next summer.
But Taylor and McHale never threatened KG or made him feel unwanted. Instead they patiently waited and let him come to the realization that he was going to have to take a pay cut from his $28.3 million salary this year. They then went out this summer and spent some money to surround him with quality talent.
Once KG knew he had a chance to win in Minnesota, it then boiled down to a simple matter of security. He could have opted to wait until July, then sign a seven-year deal with the T'wolves. Or ticketmaster he could take the security of a five-year deal now, knowing that if he blows out a knee he still gets paid.
KG opted for the
latter, and T'wolves fans should be glad. No more distractions. No more worries.
Their focus now can be on ticketmaster finding a way to get past the Spurs,
Lakers, Kings and Mavs.