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Garnett Trade Rumors
Persist, But….
NBA
gossip volume would plunge without speculation
Kevin Garnett will play elsewhere next season. A rumored
destination continues to be Los Angeles where the Lakers offer a trade
package including 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum.
The
problem with the move Garnett idea is that invariably the proposed
transaction involves unproven players and draft choices. Why trade by
far your best player, an NBA superstar, for the unknown? Not to mention
Garnett has high performance production left in his 30-year-old body and
is basketball ticket selling ATTRACTION No. 1 in Minneapolis.
NBA
trade history shows the teams receiving the superstars benefit, not the
ones giving them up. Two of the NBA’s most savvy deal makers, Jerry
West and Red Auerbach, formed championship teams by
exchanging good players for great ones.
With
the NBA season ending tonight, Garnett is on the verge of leading the
league in rebounding for a fourth consecutive year. He’s averaged
almost 13 per game. He’s totaled 22.4 points per game. Both his
rebound and season averages are similar to his best past numbers, an
indication he still plays at a high level.
Head
coach Randy Wittman admires Garnett’s
durability. “Knock on wood, he’s been blessed with a pretty healthy
career,” Wittman said. “He’s logged a lot of minutes but he hasn’t had
anything where he’s missed half a year, or he’s missed 25 games. …I
think he’s got a lot left in the tank. …He improves every year. He adds
something to his game that makes him harder to play against.”
Does
Wittman think Garnett can play at a high level for a long time?
“Absolutely,” Wittman said. “He’s shown nothing where I’ve looked at
him and said, ‘Boy, he’s lost a little bit here, he’s lost a little bit
there.’ Nothing.”
Garnett’s career numbers in total points, rebounds and assists are
keeping company now with former NBA greats.
He is one of five players in league history to come up with 19,000
points, 10,000 rebounds, and 4,000 assists in his career. The others are
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Wilt Chamberlain and Charles Barkley. Garnett’s totals are 19,041 points (20.5 per
game), 10,542 rebounds (11.4 per game), and 4,146 assists (4.5 per
game).
What
does it say about Garnett? “It’s amazing to be honest with you,” Wittman
said. “No. 1 the consistency of doing it is incredible. That’s why he’s
the player he is. All those things show you different things in a guy
and his unselfishness. His rebounding, leading the league again, that’s
not an easy thing. He plays the game the right way and it shows when
you mention numbers like that.”
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Kevin Garnett
“He’s shown nothing where I’ve looked at
him and said, ‘Boy, he’s lost a little bit here, he’s lost a little bit
there.’ Nothing.”
Randy Wittman on Kevin Garnett
Randy Wittman
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Bring Back Backstrom Call Starts Now
Some
off-season deals seem pre-ordained. It’s hard to argue with the
suggestion the Wild should trade goalie Manny Fernandez, use the
contract savings to re-sign Niklas Backstrom
and promote Josh Harding to No. 2 status.
Backstrom and Fernandez won the NHL’s William Jennings Trophy as the
goaltenders for the club finishing the regular season with the fewest
team goals against. The trophy is awarded to the goaltenders that
played in a minimum of 25 games on the team allowing the fewest goals in
the regular season. The Wild allowed a league-low 191 goals. Backstrom played in 41 games, Fernandez in 44.
Backstrom, 29, signed a one year contract with the Wild prior to last
season. He went from backup to star in one season after Fernandez was
injured. Fernandez played enough to become the first goalie in
franchise history to win a career 100 games.
Talk
is the Los Angeles Kings may be interested in acquiring Fernandez, 32,
during the off-season. Three years younger, Backstrom is closer to his
peak years than Fernandez. Then, too, it’s hard to imagine losing a guy
who performed so spectacularly. He becomes a free agent, able to sign
with any team, on July 1.
Backstrom led the NHL with a 1.96 per game goals against average and had
a 93% save average during the regular season. He had five shutouts
and in 38 of 41 games allowed three goals or less. He even became the
first goalie in the NHL’s modern era to earn two wins without starting
the games.
Backstrom finished the season by making news in the North American
hockey world. He was honored with the NHL’s Third Star for his final
three games performance. He had a 3-0-0
record, 0.33 goals-against average, a 99% save percentage and two
shutouts as the Wild (48-26-8, 104 points) finished second in the
Northwest Division and seventh in the Western Conference.
With goal scoring absent in three of four
games so far, the Wild haven’t been successful in the playoffs but
Backstrom has been effective. He’s continued his consistent play from
the regular season and allowed only eight total goals.
Backstrom played the past four seasons with
Karpat Oulu of the Finnish Elite League, including back-to-back
championship seasons in 2003-04 and 2004-05. He won 104 of the 177 games
he played in the Finnish league, with a 104-36-37 record. He had 18
shutouts in four seasons with Karpat and never had a goals against
average over 2.17.
If Fernandez doesn’t return and Backstrom
does, Harding, 22, presumably has the opportunity to become the No. 2
goalie. He played in seven games for the Wild during the season,
starting four.
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Niklas Backstrom
Manny
Fernandez
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Worth Noting
You
can listen to Vikings coach Brad Childress
read his favorite poem tomorrow (The Bridge Builder by Will
Allen Dromgoole) at the downtown Minneapolis Public Library.
Childress and other celebrities are at the library from noon to 1 p.m.
in recognition of National Poetry Month.
On
Tuesday, November 27 Tubby Smith’s Gophers will play at Florida
State as part of the ninth annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Gophers
are 3-5 in the series. Other challenge games next fall include
Wisconsin-Duke and Ohio State-North Carolina.
Look
for 24-year-old Glen Perkins, the Twins
left-hander from Stillwater who recently was recalled from Rochester, to
improve his breaking pitches as he gains more experience.
The
new Twins ballpark, with a capacity of 40,000, will be one of the
smallest in the major leagues. Compared with current stadiums only two
have smaller capacities, Boston and Pittsburgh.
NHL
phenom Sidney Crosby, who this spring became the first teenager
in major sports history to win a scoring title, will be coming to Xcel
Energy Center next season with his Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins
didn’t play here this year.
The
Wild have five players who were on the roster of the 2003 team that
played in the Stanley Cup playoffs: Pierre-Marc Bouchard,
Manny Fernandez, Marian Gaborik, Nick Schultz and
Wes Walz.
Mark
the date: the 36th annual Tapemark Charity Pro-Am is June
8-10 at Southview Country Club in West St. Paul. Dave Tentis
returns to defend his championship. He’s won four Tapemark titles. The
field includes six-time Tapemark champion Don Berry and 2005
champ Tim Hegna. Since 1972, the event has raised and donated
more than $5.5 million to non-profit agencies serving children and
adults with developmental and learning disabilities. The public is
welcome at the tournament and admission is free. Golfers can still
register at
www.proam.mn.
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Tubby Smith
John M. Williams, DDS
Cosmetic & Family Dental Care
612-521-7611 |
