The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered through a rather bizarre stretch of the season that called into question whether they were really ready to defend their title, let alone make it out of the East. They lost a bunch of games to sub-par teams, and their defense devolved into one of the league’s worst.
LeBron James had grown increasingly vocal about the Cavs needing help, and when the February trade deadline rolled around, it looked like just might get his wish. They were able to snag both Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut off the scrap heap, the latter of whom was supposed to shore up their front line.
But Bogut barely made it through the opening sequence of his first game in Cleveland before breaking his leg. Head coach Tyronn Lue said recently that, in the immediate aftermath, he tried to convince Kevin Garnett to come out of retirement and join the Cavs. Via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com:
Lue revealed that the Cavaliers reached out to Kevin Garnett — who was working as a consultant with the Clippers and Bucks after retiring last season — about coming to play backup center after Andrew Bogut suffered a season-ending leg injury.
“I was like, ‘Man, you should come back and play for me.’ He was like, ‘Man, you all have a lot going on over there,'” Lue said. “That was before we hit our stride like we’re playing well now. He was like, ‘If you and [James] Posey were still playing, I would come.’ But he said, ‘But y’all are coaching and y’all are going through what you’re going through.’ He said, ‘Ah, I’m going to sit this one out.’ I said, ‘OK. We’ll call you next year.'”
It’s tempting to think that perhaps KG, being the borderline sociopathic competitor that he is, simply didn’t want to join forces with one of the fiercest rivals of his career, i.e. LeBron James. But it’s probably more likely that he understood he didn’t have too much left in the tank for another grueling championship run.
You can’t blame Lue for trying, though. Even if Garnett wouldn’t have sniffed the court much, it’s hard to argue that his experience, toughness, and leadership wouldn’t have been a boon for a floundering team that was in desperate need of something to shake them up. Like Lue said, maybe next year.
(ESPN.com)
