Garnett, etc.

As pretty much everyone knows by now, Kevin Garnett has been traded to the Celtics.

Here are some thoughts in no particular order and with no guaranteed level of excellence:

I thought an interesting point was made by Mark Rosen of WCCO News. He pointed out how Boston now has Garnett, Randy Moss, and David Ortiz. All former Minnesota players.

I follow the NBA from afar for the most part. I watch games during the playoffs, holidays, and the occasional interesting matchup (i.e. Shaq/Kobe). I don't really have any team I would call "my team" but the Timberwolves would be the closest thing to it. I mean, given the choice, I'd prefer them to win rather than lose. I feel similar feelings toward the Bucks but to a lesser degree, if that's possible. Anyway, I still want the Wolves to do well, but the Celtics are now a team I feel I want to cheer for. Garnett is fun to watch (for an NBA player). It will at least be interesting to see him on a new team. If the analysts are to be believed, the Twolves never really surrounded him with enough talent over the years. I don't know if that's true, but at least we'll get some perspective now.

The Timberwolves may have some talented young players, but they just lost all their "it" factor. Teams are so much more interesting when they have a superstar. Not that they can't be good or even entertaining, but Garnett is someone you can get excited to see. Now there's no reason for the casual fan to care about the team. Of course, Minnesota fans have a little experience with this type of thing. See: 2006 Vikings.

In other news, Daunte Culpepper signed with Oakland.
Why did the majority of teams, fans, analysts, etc. seem to give up on him so quickly? Or am I misreading the situation? It seems that only a minority of the football community is even willing to entertain the possibility that he's a capable qb.

The cliche/hype machine that is the NFL likes to say that he's nothing without Moss. Never mind the fact that a significant portion of Daunte's best season was played with Moss on the sidelines or rendered ineffective because of an injury.

Anyway, I'm not an NFL expert and I'm not a talent scout. Maybe Culpepper has really dropped off somehow. But it seems a little strange to me. I think once he's fully healthy and given a decent situation, he'll have success.
I think the Vikings should have signed him. But their position seems to be that Tarvaris Jackson, backed up by Bollinger and a former Yankee prospect is a better way to go. I'm not sure how you come to that decision, but I'm guessing it involves the same kind of math that said Brad Johnson singlehandedly saved the Vikings a couple years ago.