What happens with Garnett after this abbreviated season is unknown, and both the Celtics and Garnett are comfortable with that. He will be a free agent, and there are likely four options for the 35-year-old.
He could 1) return to the Celtics for another championship run; 2) sign with another club as the missing piece; 3) retire and soak in the adulation; or 4) retire and disappear into the darkness, flipping on his hood and walking away with little fanfare.
He won’t hint as to which way he’s leaning. What’s more, he cut off a reporter when she inquired about the future of the team. “Next question,’’ he said.
But it’s a legitimate question that will remain until he makes a decision. If this is it for Garnett here, he will leave having made an immeasurable impact on Boston basketball, helping the city become an attractive location for NBA players in their prime, and erasing that long-dried stigma for African-American players.
His influence on the Celtics and Boston as a championship sports town is as large as his shadow when he exits the building. It’s unfortunate that Boston fans don’t get an opportunity to engage with the real Garnett, the one who constantly jokes at practice, his voice piercing the walls at the Sports Authority training center in Waltham, expletives filling the air.
“Unfortunately people never really got to know Patrick Ewing in New York,’’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said when asked if he had been associated with a player as private as Garnett. “It’s not unfortunate but you’ll never really get to know the real Kevin, just how giving he is. He’s a great personality. He’s funny. So that’s the only unfortunate thing, that the fans don’t get to see that, but that’s part of what makes Kevin great to his team. And I’m fine with that.’’
Changes for the better
