NBA Rumors: Signing Kevin Garnett Would Be Disastrous for NJ Nets and KG

The last several years haven't been bad enough for Nets fans. Going after Kevin Garnett would take things from bad to worse and wouldn't benefit a single person. 

Still, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Garnett is on the team's radar as free agency approaches. 

"

According to multiple sources, the Nets—who will have roughly $8 million to work with this summer after renouncing the rights to Kris Humphries—are targeting power forwards Kevin Garnett (restricted) and Ersan Ilyasova (unrestricted) in free agency.

"

Unless the Nets have some time machine that I am unaware of, this move would be an absolute disaster. The worst thing about this is that it would be a mess for both sides.

New Jersey Nets

The Nets need to start building a franchise that has some identity of its own. With the exception of the first few years of the decade, when Jason Kidd led them to consecutive NBA Finals appearances, this franchise has not had that since joining the NBA. 

The way to form that identity is not to sign a player who will be 36 next season, not in a capped league. If we were talking about a league where the Nets could spend whatever they wanted, then this wouldn't be such a bad move. In that case, they could bring in Garnett while still signing other, younger players to build on. 

But at this point in his career, Garnett is the kind of player best served on a team that's one role player away. He isn't a franchise player to build on anymore and really hasn't been since he was in Minnesota, as he has just been one of a "Big Three" in Boston. 

New Jersey is not that team. They need to establish a long-term identity to build on in Brooklyn. Garnett would be nothing more than a short-term addition, which is why they are best looking elsewhere.

Certainly planning to sign him right now is pointless. What's worse is that the move would make no sense for Garnett, either. 

Kevin Garnett

Garnett would need to play too much of a role with the Nets.

For it to make any sense for the Nets, they would need to bring in a lot of young talent and then sign Garnett to fill a minor role as a veteran. Even then, I wouldn't like it, but at least they would be building an identity long-term.

Teams like that are often not very good for a few years. That's not a big deal for the Nets. A true rebuilding project is a must there.

But what sense does it make for a guy like Garnett to go to that team? He would be doing nothing more than finishing his career in some frustrating situation, losing 50 games a season for a year or two. 

If that is really the best option there, then KG is better off retiring. Garnett needs to find a team that is not only looking to win now, but is legitimately a player or two short of doing that. His window for success is short, so being a part of a rebuilding project is pointless.   

Follow @mdixon1985