Kevin Garnett's status, perhaps more than anything, is holding up any truly major deals involving the elite stars of the game. The feeling around the NBA remains - based more on observation than actual information - that something inevitably will crack in Minnesota and Garnett will be traded or ask to be traded.
Garnett has been a Lakers' Plan A or B for some time now after Yao Ming and Amare Stoudemire re-signed. Boston, Seattle, Indiana, Golden State and the Bulls are some of the teams reportedly hanging back just in case Garnett ever came on the trade market.
In this NBA, it would seem that you need just one other good player with Garnett to be in the playoffs and two (especially one who's a finisher) to be a championship contender. It's why even in Minnesota there have been rumors recently of trying to reacquire Stephon Marbury.
Garnett is the best three-quarters player in the NBA; versatile, defensive-minded, tough. He just doesn't quite have that go-to move to finish off a game. But put him with a scorer, like Kobe Bryant, and you have a potential championship duo.
The Timberwolves have been badly mismanaged for years with little stability to create a team. Garnett knows all this and, at least for now, says he's sticking by his crew, whomever that may be from day to day.