http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/basketball/15875244.htm After all the speculation, Kevin Garnett remains a Timberwolf. That's a fact, despite the talk from media types, fans and everyone else with an opinion about whether he should be, or might want to be, traded. If the Wolves struggle again this season, which begins with Wednesday night's opener against Sacramento, there will be another wave of reports centered on that subject. The gossip took on a life of its own last season, when the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, among others, were tossed around as possible new homes for the former NBA most valuable player. "He's here," said teammate Trenton Hassell, one of Garnett's closest friends. "That's the only thing that matters. All that he said, she said, you don't listen to that. Until he comes out and says something, he's going to be here. He's always had a great attitude. I never had a sense that it was going that way." Vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale dismisses the talk about Garnett. "I base my conversations on talking to Kevin myself, not on what people are writing," McHale said. So if Garnett doesn't go anywhere, the issue becomes whether the Wolves can win with him. He led them to eight consecutive postseason appearances — seven first-round losses before a breakthrough trip to the 2004 Western Conference finals. But after missing the playoffs the past two seasons, now what? "The window has not closed for Kevin and this organization to win a championship," Casey said. "We're knocking on the door and building to that point right now." Garnett, who turned 30 in May, is starting his 12th season, and he has logged more than 32,000 minutes in his career, more time than McHale played in his 13 NBA seasons. Garnett's statistics last season dipped in some key areas but still were impressive. He averaged 21.8 points, 12.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He led the league in rebounding for the third consecutive year, and his 52.6 percent shooting marked his career best. And yet there's room to debate whether it was a down year for him. He was a reserve at the NBA All-Star Game last season, the first time in six years that fans didn't vote him a starter. "People say he had a bad year; he still averaged 20 and 13," Hassell said. "It's just his team didn't do so well, so that's what it is. Ticket is going to be Ticket. It's us, the other guys. His numbers were the same last year. It's not like he's declining. It's on our shoulders. His teammates have to step up." Garnett recently said he doesn't have to prove anything to anyone regarding his play. "I have everything to prove to myself," he said. "That's how I've always taken it." A nine-time all-star, Garnett has proved his individual skill. Coach Dwane Casey said Garnett remains one of the NBA's best athletes. "I don't see any slippage in his game whatsoever," Casey said. "His cerebral play has elevated. He knows the nuances of the game. He's one of our best teachers with the young players. All that stuff about Kevin being on the decline, I haven't seen it. He still has another three or four years at a very high level. What we have to do is get the guys around him at a high level with smart play around him." That's the key, perhaps. What remains a lingering issue: Can Garnett carry a team to a championship and make his teammates better enough to help him do it? In 2003-04, the most successful season in franchise history, Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell were big parts of the team and gave Garnett the veteran help he needed. Is Garnett more Scottie Pippen than Michael Jordan? In other words, is he better suited as an elite complementary player instead of a clear-cut lead option? "That's totally unfair," Casey said. "Kevin Garnett has carried the team all those years they made the playoffs. He's definitely going to be in the Hall of Fame. He can score with the best of them, and he's one of the best defenders in the league." --

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