Kevin Garnett barely had time for the past and was not entertaining questions about his future Friday morning at Target Center.
The present is too pressing. Garnett, the former Timberwolves star who went to Boston and won an NBA title, is now with the Brooklyn Nets, a veteran (read: old) team with a tight window for success that is off to a very slow, injury-riddled start.
"I focus on what's happening [now]," Garnett said after the Nets' shootaround. "There is a lot of emotions that come with this building. … But, obviously, different time, different personnel, different times."
Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry were all part of the offseason trade that sent them from the rebuilding Celtics to a Brooklyn team with high expectations. But injuries — the Nets were without Terry (knee), center Brook Lopez (ankle), Deron Williams (ankle) and Andrei Kirilenko (back) in Friday's 111-81 loss to the Wolves — have made it difficult for the new roster to jell.
Brooklyn is off to a 3-9 start. Garnett, 37, is averaging career lows in minutes played (22:18) and scoring (6.4 points per game). And that's why he was far more interested in talking about how to make the Nets better than he was about talking about his potential retirement, a query that got a "next question" answer from Garnett.
"Right now I'm just trying to figure out the system, and where I fit in at it," he said. "Obviously [coach Jason Kidd] wants more ball movement. I'm trying to initiate that. I care less about my offense right now. I haven't really been too offensive-minded. I've tried to be primarily defensive-minded, kind of be the example of that."
So, little time for reflection. Even though this game — the eighth he has played against the Wolves since he left — might be his fifth and final time at Target Center. The last time he played here was March 30, 2012. Kevin Love was at the end of one of the most impressive months in recent memory; he averaged 30.7 points and 13.9 rebounds in 16 games that March. There was a lot of talk about the two Kevins. That night, Garnett had 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Love scored 22 points on 5-for-18 shooting.
This time? "We don't want to focus on that too much," Love said. "We want to focus on the whole team they have." Garnett, meanwhile, praised both Love and the Wolves, calling Love and Ricky Rubio one of the league's best 1-2 punches.