Kevin Garnett's Return to Minnesota Is Smart Investment for Timberwolves

The idea of a young 11-42 team trading for a 38-year-old in the final year of his contract doesn't make much sense on paper, yet the reunion between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Kevin Garnett is logical when you think about it. 

TNT's David Aldridge reported Garnett's return to Minnesota, which the team then confirmed during the insanity of Thursday's trade deadline. 

Before the deal went down on Thursday, James Herbert of CBS Sports wondered about the logic of Garnett going back to where he spent the best years of his career and offered this response:

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Garnett is the kind of guy who makes practices more intense. He has plenty of stories to tell. Saunders probably thinks he can help establish the culture going forward, even if he's around for fewer than 30 games. If this happens and then he retires, Wiggins will still hear Garnett's voice in his head next season when he makes mistakes. The team has the worst defensive rating in the league, and Garnett would at least try to instill some sense of pride on that end of the floor.

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That can sound trite because the Timberwolves aren't in a spot where they are going to do anything notable anytime soon, not to mention Garnett is in the final year of his contract, so how much of a difference can a veteran in the twilight of his career really make in two months?

Well, let's remember that Garnett isn't completely without talent at this stage. Per Aaron Gleeman of NBC Sports, the veteran forward is still one of the best defensive rebounders in the NBA:

Even though nostalgia shouldn't have a place in sports, there are always the few moments that make everyone watching remember what drew them to the game in the first place. 

After all, Garnett is Minnesota basketball. If you need a reminder of some things he did for the Timberwolves in the past, Jeff Allen of Rolling Stone issued a brief snippet of why this franchise went back to the well one more time:

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They remember Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals in 2004, when KG dropped 31 points and 21 rebounds on his 28th birthday to push his team past the Sacramento Kings. They remember Garnett bellowing "This is for everybody in 'Sota!" after winning an NBA Championship with the Celtics in 2008. And for the casual Wolves observer, he might be the only Minnesota Timberwolf they can even name; no one else has been memorable enough to warrant consideration.

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It's still telling where this franchise is at right now that it felt the need to bring back someone such as Garnett. When you are 31 games under .500, most teams would be figuring out ways to slash payroll in order to make moves in the offseason. 

The NBA is a different animal, with teams fighting the urge to make the playoffs with a record barely over .500 and others embracing the rewards that come from putting a non-competitive team on the court. 

For perspective, try figuring out what the Philadelphia 76ers are plotting. It's easy to say that franchise is smart to keep trading any valuable piece away with the hopes of eventually striking gold in the draft—maybe this summer if Duke's Jahlil Okafor leaves school—but superstar talent is hard to find and groom.

The Timberwolves are taking a different, smarter route. At least they seem to have a plan with the likes of Andrew Wiggins (19), Zach LaVine (19), Anthony Bennett (21), Shabazz Muhammad (22) and Ricky Rubio (24) already in place. 

While those young players all have the opportunity to learn from a good coach such as Flip Saunders, it's a different thing entirely to get a player who instantly commands the respect of everyone in the room such as Garnett. 

Players such as Wiggins and LaVine are going to gravitate toward Garnett as a mentor and leader and learn what keeps him motivated and productive in the midst of a lost season, and they will take that knowledge as they enter the peak of their careers. 

Minnesota won't see results on the floor this year—everyone knows that—but the storm that's been hovering over the franchise for so long is about to break. The Timberwolves are going to be very good in a short time.

The addition of Garnett is a critical piece of the puzzle, even if the move seemed like a head-scratcher.