How Will It End For KG?

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Thirty on 30: Kevin Garnett settled into a courtside chair at Target Center one morning last week and, over the next half-hour or so, sounded very much like an old 30-year-old. Which is, after all, what he is, with 11 years on his NBA r?sum?, nearly 900 games under his belt, more than 34,000 minutes on his clock and, as usual, plenty on his mind.

The Timberwolves' most valuable performer and most identifiable face had some fun with arithmetic ("If I had a kid when I came into the league, when I'm 36, he'd be through high school. That's crazy"). He pondered his eventual retirement age (either 34 or 40, depending on circumstances). And he daydreamed aloud about game days when he's no longer one of the participants.

"After I'm done playing, I'm going to get a season ticket. Sit my rear right down on the floor with my guys," Garnett said. "I'll get an extra seat on the floor, come in and watch Rashad, Randy, Craig, LeBron, 'Melo, D-Wade. I'll enjoy life.

"But when it's over, it's over. That's why I go hard. That's who I am, and I can say I gave it everything I had."

Right about then, half of the lights in the arena bowl went out. If you don't grasp the symbolism of that, you haven't been paying attention.

Garnett's retirement date is of far less concern to the Wolves these days than his departure date, because, more than ever, they might not be one and the same. The 2006-07 season that begins Wednesday against Sacramento could be Garnett's last with the team, the culmination of too many dreary finishes, too much roster turnover and too little postseason progress.

It has been hinted at for a couple of years actually, that Garnett might finally ask the big question: Stay or go? Press him and you'll get more theory than answer.

"It's sad that we live in a society that's not built off of loyalty and consistency," Garnett said. "Within neighborhoods, ratting is at an all-time high, telling on everybody. It seems like people forget about loyalty. It's not about the old school, man. I'm such an old-school guy, but the standard now is to move on when something's bad."

"Everybody speaks from the newsstand, and the newsstand seems to be, 'That ain't working out for him. He needs to leave,' " Garnett said. "But if I was to go off what everybody else wants me to do, I'd probably be broke, out of the league, by the side of the road, living under a bridge. At some point, you've got to be a man and do what's best for you."

OK. So what is it going to be: Stay or go? </div>

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