JULY 14, 1:08pm: The move is now official, the Celtics have announced.
JUNE 30, 9:24am: The Celtics will re-sign Garnett to a three-year deal worth $34MM, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
9:12am: After contemplating retirement, Kevin Garnett has decided to re-sign with the Celtics, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Bulpett reports that Garnett has informed the C's he'll be back, and that the two sides are still hammering out the specifics of a deal. The contract will be for at least two years and possibly for three, says Bulpett.
"The decision came down to whether KG wanted to keep playing," one source told the Herald. "And once he decided that he did, it was going to be Boston. He wasn’t going to leave Doc [Rivers] and those guys and play anywhere else."
Garnett's $21.25MM 2011/12 salary ensured he'd take up a massive cap hold on Boston's books heading into free agency. However, if KG and the Celtics quickly sign a deal on July 11th, when the July moratorium ends, it should allow the C's to regain some cap space and pursue other free agents. While Garnett may still sign for an eight-figure annual salary, it's not expected to approach the $21MM+ he earned this year.
Garnett, 36, was his usual productive self for Boston in 2011/12, averaging 15.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 20.4 PER in 60 regular season games, before bumping those averages to 19.2, 10.3, and 20.5 in the playoffs.
With draftees Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo also on board, the Celtics are also expected to try to re-sign Brandon Bass and Jeff Green and perhaps pursue outside free agents, as they fill out their frontcourt.
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Great news. Garnett might not put up numbers like he did last year but he will be able to teach Sullinger and Melo.
terrible deal, hes 36, have fun with a 39 year old Garnett making 11 mill a year. The worst thing that has happened to the Celtics was that tight series with miami. They believe they can make another run. Its these types of dumb moves that handicap a franchise that should be rebuilding.
Not such a bad deal with 6’9″, 268 lb Sullinger in the fold. Assuming his back holds out–and the Celtics have already done due diligence on that front–an already-mature Sullinger gets tutored by one of the best ever. Then the rest of the league gets schooled. Ideally, after about a season-and-a-half, they switch spots with Sullinger starting and KG offering Bill Walton-like production, leadership, and experience off the bench. Additionally, KG’s about $10M cheaper than he was last season.
Sullinger, Fab Melo, Avery Bradley, Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green, E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson don’t offer enough proof of re-tooling on the fly? Stiemsma (27) and Hollins (28) were terrific as role players. How about strong interest in 24-year-old OJ Mayo? Good franchises re-tool while they make deep, veteran-led runs in the playoffs. The LAL and SAS do the same types of things.
KG’s an all-time great and will be a super mentor to the young kids
good price also