Boston Celtics: What Kevin Garnett's Reported Return Means to the Team

There was a bit of angst, there was a little concern, but Boston Celtics fans, you need not worry anymore. Kevin Garnett will return to the Celtics, as he has reportedly agreed to a three-year, $34 million deal to remain in green according to Yahoo! Sports' Marc J. Spears.

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Celtics to re-sign forward Kevin Garnett to a three-year, $34 million deal, sources tell Yahoo! Sports.

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) June 30, 2012"

There was a lot of talk that Garnett would retire, that every ounce of strength he put into this past year's playoff run was his swan song. Well, obviously, K.G. is not yet ready to call it quits, and neither is this Boston team.

You all know the details.

The Celtics were 15-17 at the All-Star break and battled through a minefield of injuries to reach the Eastern Conference finals where they would fall valiantly to the eventual NBA champion Miami Heat in seven games.

When Garnett walked to the bench toward the end of Game 7 of that series, many thought it would be the final time we saw him. Many thought this Celtic era as we knew it had finally come to a screeching halt.

Think again.

After picking up Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo with the 21st and 22nd picks in the NBA draft and with a decent amount of money left to sign free agents, the C's are still here, and given the fact that Derrick Rose will still be recovering from his torn ACL and will likely miss a good chunk of the 2012-13 season, the door is once again wide open for Boston in the East.

I don't want to jump ahead of myself here, as we still have an entire offseason ahead of us, but if we can learn anything from Garnett's desire to play (at least) another year, it's that he sincerely believes that the Celtics can contend for another title.

Why would he return if he thought otherwise?

It would be pointless, as it would merely be adding more strain to his already banged up 36-year-old body, and for what? To just make the playoffs and quietly fizzle out?

No. Clearly, K.G. believes in his heart of hearts that the championship window has not yet closed, regardless of what most others don't believe.

Garnett is a competitor, perhaps the fiercest competitor in the game, period. The way this past season ended had to be one of the most painful experiences of his entire life, and I cannot imagine for a second that that is how he wanted to go out. That is why I had a hunch all along that he was going to return. I just can't picture K.G. walking away after losing a Game 7 to his most hated rivals.

He wants revenge.

I know that many have already counted Boston out for next season (what else is new?), as they say that the Heat are just too young and too good for the C's to possibly beat them—this, even though the Celtics were about seven minutes away from doing so a few weeks ago. This, even though Boston actually had a 3-2 lead on Miami in that series.

Garnett has heard all of that, and don't think for a second that that didn't play a significant role in his decision to come back. I'm sure he's talked with Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Doc Rivers and maybe even free agent Ray Allen (do not be surprised if the next piece of news you hear coming out of Boston is that Allen will be returning as well) about making another run, and I'm sure that they all believe that they are fully capable of making such a run.

K.G.'s decision can only mean one thing: This Boston Celtics team is not done.