Have to wonder how much of his decision is based on Tim Duncan. Must kill him to see Duncan continue to perform at an elite level on a championship team. KG's regressed, though... Duncan's per-minute production has basically stayed consistent throughout his entire career. If Duncan retired, KG would probably retire.
Duncan isn't elite anymore. He has better supporting cast and a far better coach, who can all cover up Duncan's weaknesses or failures. You really think KG would be looking this bad if he wasn't the only legit rim-protecting big man on his team for the past 3-4 years and wasn't expected to do everything a the big men of the team are supposed to do all by himself?
No, I am not in some sort of denial that KG is still an MVP player. But people like to completely disregard KG's supporting cast versus Duncan's supporting cast. Duncan has players to hide his old-age mistakes. KG doesn't have anyone down low to help him out. If you asked Dwight Howard to do be the only big man on the team and do everything himself, he will get tired way sooner and make far more mistakes.
I wholeheartedly agree. Duncan, for the most part, is always getting wide open layups, dunks, and even a few midrange jumpers over the course of a game, so unlike Garnett, Duncan isn't asked to create his own offense. He's rarely in the post anymore, understandably, but even when he is, I don't think he's better than KG. For all of those who call him The Big Fundamental, Duncan rarely uses his left hand, if ever. Just because you can make a bank shot doesn't mean that you're fundamentally sound. When KG plays inside, he's got just as many, if not more, moves as Tim imho. Plus, even though he's improved in the final years of his career, Duncan was never a good free throw shooter, and was often a liability at the end of games because of it, while Garnett has always been an excellent shooter from the charity stripe, especially for a big man, and has made more than his fair share of huge foul shots.
I just think that Kidd was asking him and Pierce to do things that they can no longer do throughout games, at least consistently. KG shouldn't have to create his own shot off the dribble at 38. It's not a video game. Of course, there were many games when he took 4 shots, so if we're going to compare Duncan and Garnett based on their last season performances, this must be taken into account. Kidd had no clue as to how to use him, or Pierce, correctly.
Anyway, all that last season showed me was how much better Rondo is than Williams, and how he, Pierce, and Garnett all made each other better, thus making the game easier for each other, despite Doc's putrid offense. Either way, I miss them dearly. The only thing that I wonder with KG is if he would consider embracing the role of 6th man like Walton did in 86. He would be absolutely deadly, and would likely still be on the court in crunch time. I know that making such an adjustment is extremely difficult, especially for someone of his stature, but I think KG would thrive in that role. What do you guys think?
