Kevin Garnett's Loyalty to Celtics Is Rare Quality in Today's NBA

“I bleed green, I’ll die green.” - Kevin Garnett, February 16, 2013.

In a day and age when NBA players switch allegiances seemingly without a thought, Garnett's refusal to waive the no-trade clause in his contract is a welcome sight.

Via the Boston Globe's Baxter Holmes, "Kevin Garnett made his strongest comments yet regarding trade rumors when he said Saturday that under no circumstance would he waive his no-trade clause."

Garnett issued his comments in the wake of recent rumors that the Los Angeles Clippers were attempting to engineer a trade for the veteran forward. The reported deal would have sent Garnett to the Clippers in exchange for guard Eric Bledsoe and center DeAndre Jordan (via Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears). 

Garnett's Celtics are currently the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, one-and-a-half games ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks and one-and-a-half games behind the Atlanta Hawks. The team has performed admirably since losing Rajon Rondo to a torn ACL in late January, winning seven of its eight games.

That said, Boston will be hard pressed to continue its winning ways during the second half of the season without its superstar point guard, and nobody will be shocked to see the Celtics miss the playoffs this year.

The Clippers, on the other hand, are sitting pretty as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. This team features one of the NBA's top point guards in Chris Paul as well as one of the league's most dynamic young power forwards in Blake Griffin, and it's a team with a legitimate chance to take a crack at winning a title this season. 

Combining Griffin and Garnett would give L.A. a dominant duo in the middle, giving the Clippers one of the most imposing frontcourts in the Association. 

You'd think Garnett would jump all over a chance to move to L.A., where he already owns a home, to play for a championship contender.

Garnett isn't having any of it, though. He's too loyal to his teammates, his coach and the franchise that brought him aboard before the 2007-2008 season. 

In an age where stars like Dwight Howard and LeBron James have jumped at the chance for greener pastures, Garnett's loyalty to the C's is a welcome change.

Loyalty used to be a common theme in professional sports, but in today's world of instant gratification and monster paychecks, players have seemingly forgotten what the word means.

I, for one, applaud Garnett's decision.

On that note, I'll be rooting for Boston to continue its inspirational run without Rondo the rest of the way this season in the hopes of watching the Celtics play for a championship this spring. 

Long live loyalty.

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