One of the most interesting teams to watch this offseason will be the Boston Celtics. They have to face the decision of bringing back their aging veterans or letting their stars go and starting over. They were within one win of the NBA Finals, so it would be hard to make the argument that the current team they have doesn’t work, but will the wear and tear of another year push them out of contention?
That remains to be seen. First we have to see who will be returning. If the Celtics want Kevin Garnett back they may have to make some other moves first. According to the Boston Herald, Garnett wants to know what kind of chance Boston will have and who his teammates will be before signing on for another year.
“Kevin’s very loyal, and he hates change,” one source said. “But I think it’d be hard for him to come back if it’s a total rebuild. If he’s going to play, he has to be playing for something.
“I think he’ll wait to see what’s going to happen. If Danny [Ainge] can give him a solid answer right away, then maybe he gives them an answer, too. But KG’s going to want to know who he’ll be playing with.”
It’s not an unreasonable request for Garnett. The 36-year-old veteran only has a couple years left at best and he doesn’t want to waste them being part of the Celtics’ rebuilding process. Boston probably doesn’t want that either. I imagine if guys like Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are going to move on, they’d expect the same from KG, so it’s smart for Garnett to see what direction the franchise is going to go before making his decision.
Of course, even if Garnett does decide he wants to return and can contend for a championship with Boston next year, he’ll still have to negotiate a contract. KG and the Celtics may have differing opinions about how much the future Hall-of-Famer is worth, or how long he can play for and contribute. I think it’d be nice for Garnett to retire as a member of the Boston Celtics, but sometimes that’s just not in the cards.
