The Horror! KG Blows Off Two Rookies

Boston.com - [Kevin] Garnett wasn’t exactly welcoming to Pacers rookies A.J. Price and Tyler Hansbrough when he visited Indianapolis this summer to film a Wheaties commercial. As Garnett exited Conseco Fieldhouse, Indiana assistant coach Lester Conner asked him to walk over and meet Price and Hansbrough, who were working out. Garnett wasn’t exactly friendly. According to Conner, Garnett continued to walk out and remarked, “[Expletive] your rookies.’’ Said Price, laughing, “That pretty much let me know where I was at on the totem pole. I thought I was going to have a chance to talk to him for a second so I can say, ‘What’s up?’ and introduce myself. But I guess he shot that down real quick.’’

When you read this, did you have the same reaction I had? Like you missed something? The point of the story, maybe? As I was reading through it I thought something might actually, you know, happen that would make this worth reading. Maybe Garnett would jam his foot up Price’s ass and break it off or seduce Hansbrough’s mother or something. But he refused to meet with them? Said “Fuck your rookies?” and showed Price where he is on the totem pole and that makes him, what? A jerk? Since when? The last I looked he spelled his name Kevin Friggin Garnett and AJ Price and Tyler Hanbrough have some goddamned nerve even saying they belong on the totem pole Garnett sits atop. Since when does Lester Connor think a guy like Garnett has the time or the inclination to drop what he’s doing to go patting the head of every Ron Rookie and Nick Nobody on every team standing between him and Banner 18? Jeez, KG didn’t take the time to listen to some nobody who to that point had never even touched the court in an NBA game say “What’s up?” He must be a monster. Why is that? How many times have you heard a story about how some great athlete was so hellbent on winning that he hated the guys he competed against. Ty Cobb, Bob Gibson, Dick Butkus, Dave Cowens. The Halls of Fame are full of guys who treated you like dogcrap when you wore someone else’s uniform, but once you put on theirs, they were the most loyal teammates in the world. And how many times have you heard some old timer gripe that modern athletes are just a bunch of mercenaries with no competitiveness, no fire in the belly, no team loyalty. If the Pacers want some veteran to give a reach-around to their rookies, they should hire the Globetrotters. We’ll take KG just the way he is, thanks.