Minnesota Timberwolves: Recognizing the greatest athlete in Minnesota history

Tomorrow night, the Boston Celtics visit Target Center for the first time since last summer's blockbuster KG-for-half-of-the-Celtics trade. And in case you've been living under a rock, here's some news: Garnett is hurt, and almost certainly won't play. And the early buzz from Boston coach Doc Rivers was that, if KG was hurt, he probably wouldn't even travel to Minneapolis.

The 10,000 or so fans who bought tickets to see KG's return were no doubt slightly miffed.

Today, though, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune has some better news: Garnett might be here, if the Wolves are planning to recognize him.

Boston coach Doc Rivers said after his team beat the Clippers at home that he thinks Garnett will travel with the team to Minnesota on Thursday and will come out from the locker room to greet the crowd if the Wolves plan to recognize his return.

The team had planned a rather low-key celebration - basically, they were going to pause while reading Boston's starting lineup, to allow the crowd to give KG the standing ovation that he deserves and never had a chance to receive before his departure - but that was it. But if he's not going to play, and the team is going to have a chance for a mini-pregame ceremony - why not go all out?

After all, across town the Wild are having a ceremony tonight to honor former North Star Mike Modano, the NHL's leading American-born goalscorer, for his contributions to hockey. This despite the fact that Modano is playing for the opposing team and has no connection with the Wild franchise except that he played four years for the North Stars before the team moved (and was in "The Mighty Ducks").

Why can't the Wolves put together a similar ceremony? Kevin Garnett is the greatest athlete in Minnesota history, and deserves to be thanked for his time in the state. Honor his contributions to the franchise, to basketball in the state, and to Minnesota at large. Unveil plans for a statue on First Avenue, or unveil a plaque at the scorer's table, or just give the guy a gold watch, but do something.

Personally, I think that Minnesota should long have planned to retire his number on Friday, but I realize there may be a bit of touchiness about retiring the number of a player on an opposing team. So the Timberwolves can save that one for the first home game following KG's retirement from basketball.

The organization has a day to prepare at this point. A standing ovation would be nice, but if they have the chance to recognize Garnett in a more meaningful, more permanent way than just allowing Wolves fans the time to cheer him, they should pull out all the stops to make that happen.