Kevin Garnett: ‘I Will Retire as a Celtic’

When the 2012 offseason began, question marks surrounded Kevin Garnett’s future with the Boston Celtics. But after signing a three-year contract extension at the end of June, KG is now scheduled to be clad in green and white until he reaches the ripe age of 39. With a very comfortable situation in place, Garnett says there is no doubt he will play out the rest of his career in Beantown. Via Masslive.com: “Kevin Garnett, making a Chinese tour for the shoe company Anta, recently told a Chinese website that he plans to retire as a Boston Celtic. As translated by HoopsHype, Garnett said, ‘I will retire as a Celtic for sure.’ For the past three years in Boston, the Celtics’ future was murky. The team vacillated between brilliance and disappointment, miserable January performances against the Toronto Raptors and long playoff runs that more than counteracted the rough days. Danny Ainge dangled his stars on the trade market and weighed whether to start a rebuilding process. The Celtics existed in a state of basketball purgatory, never fully sure whether they should add pieces with dreams of a Larry O’Brien trophy or shed them in hopes of improving their long-term stability. But when Garnett re-signed after mulling retirement and Ainge followed by surrounding his current stars with a crop of young contributors (six pieces expected to be in Boston’s rotation next year are 27 or younger, and that’s not including first-round pick Fab Melo), a vision began to take place. The future, as observers always figured it would, includes a younger roster. But that roster will remain led by Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo, at least for the next couple years.”