Stein: Wolves making late deadline push for F Kevin Garnett

Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve officially reached the bizarre portion of trade deadline rumors: according to Marc Stein, the Minnesota Timberwolves are trying to acquire … Kevin Garnett, former T’Wolf legend.

To acquire Garnett, Stein reports the Wolves are dangling power forward  Thaddeus Young, the player they traded a first-round pick for earlier this season, as bait for Billy King (Nets GM) and company to bite on.

Why does this matter on a Clippers blog? Garnett is one of several players who the Clippers front office would pursue if placed upon the market following a contract buyout. There have been no guarantees that one would happen between Garnett and the Nets, but if it did happen, Doc Rivers, Garnett’s former head coach in Boston, would presumably be first in line to acquire the big man’s services.

But if Garnett is shipped off the Minnesota, that possibility ends immediately.

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The list of players who could help the Clippers going forward seems to grow smaller and smaller as each day passes. Because the deadline has yet to pass, there’s a slight sense of optimism in place when discussing what Doc Rivers could add to the team, but reality paints a picture void of optimism, firing back rays of pessimism for whatever happy thought occurs. I’m personally tired of discussing how the Clippers squandered asset after asset, but with each passing hour, the truth is that: this organization is only in this position because of poor management at the hands of Doc Rivers.

In regards to the actual trade rumor, I’m not really sure what the Timberwolves and Flip Saunders are doing here. For sentimental reasons, bringing Garnett back for what could be the remainder of his final NBA season would be cool on many levels, as KG could play mentor to the likes of Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, etc. while possibly preparing for a transition into a front office role in Minnesota. But judging from a basketball perspective, this seems like an awful way to squander the talents of Young, not because he’d fetch a huge haul on the market but the Wolves will have wasted a first-round selection for nearly three-fourths a season for Thad. For Brooklyn, moving Garnett for Young and accompanying pieces could be the beginning of a much-needed reboot; or the Nets could watch Young walk away this summer, freeing at least $9.1 million of the books.

The trade deadline ends at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time so expect a flurry of rumors to fly from now until then. It’s hard to tell what direction the Clippers sway in, but they won’t go down without being absolutely denied

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