The Timberwolves have 11 remaining home games this season. Fans can expect to see Kevin Garnett in every one of those games in Minneapolis.
“He will play them all at home, and then some of them (13) away,” Wolves owner Glen Taylor told Sports Headliners during a telephone interview.
Garnett, the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer, returned to the Wolves via trade last month and made his debut last Wednesday night before a standing room only audience at Target Center. Garnett, who played for the Wolves for 12 years before being traded away in 2007, is no longer able to play a lot of minutes because of his aging body (he turns 39 May 19th).
In Wednesday’s game he played 19 minutes during the home win over the Wizards, and then watched the entire game from the bench on Friday night when the Wolves lost in Chicago to the Bulls. Saturday evening he played 15 minutes in a home loss to the Grizzlies before being ejected from the game for a second technical foul.
Hit by injuries that sidelined three starters for more than 100 games this season, the Wolves have struggled on the court while compiling one of the NBA’s worst records. The result has been problems at the box office and overall minimal interest in the team including poor TV ratings. The Wolves are last in home NBA attendance averaging 14,225 fans per game, according to Espn.com. Tickets have not only gone unsold but seats already purchased haven’t been used for many games this season at Target Center.
All of that and more is why bringing back Garnett was a calculated business decision by the franchise. In acquiring Garnett from the Nets in a trade that sent Thaddeus Young to Brooklyn, the Wolves agreed to pick up the remaining money owed to Garnett on his contract this season—about $4 million.
Garnett’s presence in a Wolves uniform and playing 13 home games before the season ends on April 15 is probably worth at least a few million dollars in additional revenue to Taylor’s club. The Wolves drew a second consecutive sellout (19,356) on Saturday night and even if Garnett helps the franchise attract only an additional 2,000 fans per game the revenues will be significant. Tickets, concessions and merchandise are all impacted by Garnett. His presence also increases the likelihood of fans using tickets purchased before he came back to town.
“I think we’ve really got a lot of interest (with Garnett back),” said Taylor who told Sports Headliners in January he anticipated the franchise losing a couple million dollars this season.
There’s an economic impact tied to Garnett for next season, too. Getting more fans in the building now to see the team’s roster of high potential players like 2014 first round draft choices Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine is the kind of “product sampling” Taylor and staff marketers want. The potential for selling more season tickets has increased and the renewed interest in the franchise can also impact potential revenue areas such as suite sales, sponsorship and advertising.
Garnett was only 19 when the Wolves made him their No. 1 draft choice in 1995. He is the greatest player in team history and seen as the face of the franchise. His intensity and zeal to win can be inspirational to teammates and fans. The energy Garnett created in Target Center for the first two games put new life into the fans and the Wolves who have a near worst league record of 13-45.
“He just has a showmanship about him,” Taylor said. “…The way he points his fingers and the look on his face and stuff like that. The whole crowd loves it.”
Garnett is a free agent after this season but indications from him are that if he chooses to play a 21st season in the NBA it will be for the Wolves. Taylor said there is no agreement yet about next season but the owner seemed upbeat a deal could be made. “If he remains healthy I am optimistic that he would probably want to continue try playing.”
Worth Noting
Garnett’s first home game with the Wolves last Wednesday night offered a boost in Fox Sports North’s audience compared with typical viewership of the NBA team on the cable network. A Sports Headliners source e-mailed that viewership was “four or five times better” than a typical game on Fox but because of the Wolves’ poor record this season viewership numbers have been low. At peak viewing on Wednesday night about 139,000 people were watching the game.
The telecast of last Tuesday night’s Wild game against the Oilers was the highest-rated regular season Wild game ever on Fox Sports North. The viewing audience was over 200,000.
The prediction here remains the same as months ago: in the near future U.S. Bank will buy the naming rights for the new Vikings stadium. You wonder, though, how the Adrian Peterson controversy is affecting sponsorship relations for the Vikings. Certainly Peterson’s incident with his son last year provoked concerns from corporate supporters of the Vikings and the NFL. More recently Peterson’s publicized reservations about returning to Minnesota added to speculation about how his association with the Vikings might be perceived by the public if he plays here in 2015. When companies invest millions for sponsorships and other affiliations with sports teams, controversy and public disapproval aren’t developments they want associated with their brands.
The Gophers basketball team plays No. 6 ranked (AP poll) Wisconsin on Thursday night at Williams Arena. Last season Minnesota upset the Badgers in Minneapolis and Jim Dutcher told Sports Headliners it could happen again. The former Gophers coach said the Badgers struggle against guards who penetrate toward the goal, and also Minnesota center Mo Walker matches up effectively against Wisconsin Player of the Year Candidate Frank Kaminsky. “They’re built to really play well against a team like Wisconsin,” Dutcher said.
Walker and point guard DeAndre Mathieu each scored 18 points in last year’s 81-68 win at home. Mathieu’s quickness could be effective again and Dutcher advised watching Minnesota junior college transfer Carlos Morris, a 6-5 wing with NBA type slashing ability. “Morris could have a great game against Wisconsin just taking the ball to the basket,” Dutcher said.
The Badgers, 14-2 in Big Ten games, defeated Minnesota, 63-53, in Madison on February 21. The Gophers, 6-10 with two regular season games remaining, had thoughts of a winning conference record before the season and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA dream is gone unless Minnesota wins the Big Ten Tournament later this month. A victory over the Badgers would be a morale boost. “This is almost a season salvager for the Gophers,” Dutcher said.
Multiple sources have said East Ridge High School junior quarterback Seth Green, considered the top Minnesota prep football recruit for the class of 2016, will play his senior season for Allen High School in Allen, Texas. An announcement might be made soon that Green will play for the suburban Dallas school, a football power playing its home games in a $60 million stadium.
Green verbally committed to Oregon last fall and if he moves out of Minnesota it appears to further diminish any possibility he will sign a National Letter of Intent with the Gophers next February. Among Green’s college offers is one from Texas, and the Longhorns now might figure more prominently in the young quarterback’s decision-making process in choosing a college.
Rivals.com labels Green as a four-star recruit and ranks him as the No. 10 dual-threat quarterback in the country.
Safety Cedric Thompson was one of the ex-Gophers who impressed today at Pro Day at the University of Minnesota. Thompson was timed at 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash as pro scouts looked on.
A quad strain kept ex-Gophers running back David Cobb from participating but he said he will have a private workout for scouts at the U early next month.
Among talent evaluators in attendance were Rick Spielman, Norv Turner and Mike Zimmer from the Vikings. The three talked with Gophers coach Jerry Kill on the field at the U indoor football facility where Pro Day was held.
Hamline’s men’s hockey team has an improbable success story. The Pipers were 2-22-1 last season and won just a single game the year before. Former Gopher Cory Laylin is the new coach this season and the Pipers are 13-10-4 overall after Saturday’s upset of No. 1 seed St. Thomas in the MIAC playoffs. Hamline’s 11 win improvement this season is the best in men’s Division III hockey. The Pipers scored three goals in the final four minutes to break a 3-3 tie against the Tommies (16-6-4) to win the game. Hamline, the No. 5 playoff seed, has advanced to the MIAC playoff championship game where next Saturday night the Pipers will play No. 2 seed Saint Mary’s in Winona.
Bob Gustafson, public relations director for Grandma’s Marathon, will speak at the March 12 CORES luncheon at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington, 1114 American Blvd. A St. Louis Park High School alum, Gustafson is responsible for various public relations and marketing duties for the annual event that attracts 18,000 runners. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans. Reservations for the program (deadline March 9) can be made by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.