LA Clippers: Why Kevin Garnett would be perfect for L.A.’s staff

Working with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan

As Doc said, Kevin Garnett put on a “teaching clinic” during the LA Clippers’ Thursday practice. He was joining the team for all their drills, and once practice came to an end, he immediately went to work with Blake Griffin.

Others watched or got involved, including rookies Diamond Stone and Brice Johnson, and Garnett worked one-to-one with Griffin in the post.

Garnett was teaching Griffin moves in the post, fighting for position, boxing out effectively, and likely some defensive tips from the post, too. Garnett has countless knowledge at this point of his life after influencing the power forward position as an agile defender outside, smooth jump shooter, passer, and ferocious defender.

He helped change the perception of what big men could be and what they could do on the court. And as one of the top power forwards ever, there could hardly be anyone better for Griffin to learn from.

If there’s an area of his game Griffin needs to improve, it’s defense. It’s hard to imagine him becoming a great shot blocker at this point of his career, despite the tremendous athleticism he possesses, but there’s no doubt he could improve in other areas. Sometimes he’s unfairly criticized when he’s still a strong force in the post, and has improved recently when keeping opposing bigs out the paint and holding his own down low.

Having a Hall of Fame power forward like Garnett share his IQ and intensity, fine tuning Griffin’s defense in the post, working on positioning, learning when to contend a shot or hold back, and how to cover pick-and-rolls effectively is such a valuable asset.

Garnett was back at the Clippers’ practice on Friday as well, this time seen working with DeAndre Jordan in the post. As the kind of big man mentor that Jordan won’t have had otherwise, Garnett gives fans far better hope of Jordan expanding offensively.

Hopefully for Griffin, Jordan, and the LA Clippers as a whole, Garnett may join the team as an assistant or trainer so these masterclasses aren’t just a rare occurrence. At the very least, the team will hope he pops by often with the invite from Doc.