KG's new pastures are green indeed

Did he really have to be this good? Did he really have to immediately transform a decrepit franchise and win a championship and celebrate like a kid, or Da Kid, on national TV? Why couldn't Kevin Garnett have faded away like most aging athletes, instead of haunting us in HD?

If he has any laughter left in him, Garnett gets to chuckle once more when he returns to Target Center tonight leading what might be the best team in basketball against the franchise his departure devastated.

Tonight, Garnett again gets to choose from time-honored sayings about revenge:

"He who laughs last ... shoots milk through his nose every time he thinks about the Timberwolves."

"Living well is ... better than playing in Minnesota."

The power of star players -- the right kinds of stars, those who excel in the standings as well as the statistical rankings -- is transformative.

Before the Timberwolves traded Garnett to the Celtics for Al Jefferson and fodder, Wolves fans were tired of losing in the first round of the playoffs, Danny Ainge was considered a general manager flop on par with Kevin McHale, and Celtics coach Doc Rivers was thought of as a lost ball in tall weeds among national NBA observers.

The Garnett trade, even if we can agree that the Wolves had backed themselves into a position where they had to trade him, elevated the Celtics, devastated the Wolves and changed the reputations of just about everyone involved, as well as the NBA landscape.

This was not the first time the arrival or departure of a star changed a franchise, or a coach's reputation.

Byron Scott's coaching career was probably saved by Chris Paul.

How well do you think handing out books and talking about Zen philosophy would have worked for Phil Jackson if he hadn't coached Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal? Yes, Jackson is an exceptional coach, but if he hadn't won early, the triangle offense might have gone the way of the underhand free-throw.

The power of stars in the NBA is such that Pat Riley spent his entire career positioning himself to coach them.

In 2006 and 2007, his first two years on the job, Mike McCarthy coached Brett Favre.

He tied Joe Gibbs for the best won-loss percentage as an NFL head coach in his first 25 games on the job, at 16-9. He finished second in coach of the year voting in 2007 to Bill Belichick. He signed a five-year contract extension.

Since Favre left, McCarthy is 10-13.

Vikings coach Brad Childress was 24-24 before acquiring Favre. With Favre, he's 7-1.

With Favre, Eric Mangini's record was 9-7, even though an injury to Favre prompted the Jets to lose four of their last five games.

Stars are expensive for a reason. They're worth it.

I never cared for the way Garnett presented himself off the court. You think Favre is a diva? You should have gotten a load of Garnett's "My Sneakers Don't Stink" attitude.

On the court, though, the guy is and always has been exemplary.

It is a cliché because it is so true: Garnett makes the players around him better. He kept the Wolves, as a business and basketball operation, afloat for years, no matter how McHale tried to destroy the franchise.

As a Celtic, Garnett has proved, on a bigger stage and with better teammates, to be a beautifully balanced and deft team player. Garnett has defined the difference between a productive statistical player such as Jefferson and a true star.

"I'm far from dead. Believe that."

Oh, we've noticed.

After he won that title, Garnett screamed "Anything is possible!" What he was trying to say, was, "Anything is possible when you have me."

Nobody will be arguing tonight at Target Center.