Kevin Garnett said recently he has thought about retiring each of the last three summers, and each time he decided to come back. That was maybe a bigger surprise this season, when Paul Pierce bolted Brooklyn for the nation’s capital, but there were at least 12 million good reasons for KG to play one more season.
Most people expect this season to be the last…
Except KG, who said he might play one more after that.
At the Nets media day on Friday Garnett said he’s taking it year-by-year and will decide about next season after this one, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.“I like to come in each year and assess it,” Garnett said Friday at the team’s annual media day. “I’ve always said the days when I’m not feeling basketball again, which is absurd, or when I don’t have the motivation to come in here, it’s time to move on. But that’s not the case. I’m very much motivated. I’m looking to have a better year than last year and I’m looking to enjoy this year….
"(Retirement is) always somewhere in there, especially when you come up short of your goal for the year,” Garnett said. “But I must admit these last three years I’ve thought about life and where basketball is as far as priority. So yeah, in the back of your mind you think about it. But the decision is yes or no. It’s not like 50-50 I’m in the middle of the road or gray area. I’m a person that when you commit to something, you commit to it. It’s that simple.”
He has no commitments, no contracts past this season.
Garnett saw a steep drop in the quality of his play last season on the offensive end, which at age 37 shouldn’t have been a shock. But his true shooting percentage dropped to a career low .467 (well below the league average near .530) and his PER dropped to 13.3 (again below the league average of 15). Still, he was solid on defense and the Nets found their groove when, after Brook Lopez’s injury, KG started playing center.
If he has a bit of a bounce back season at age 38, maybe he starts to think about 39 and 40.
But KG (like Kobe and other players who see themselves as warriors) will not announce his retirement early and set up a farewell tour. That’s not how Garnett is wired. He’ll just make his decision when he is ready.
