With Paul Pierce’s jersey retirement out of the way, the question must be raised: Who’s next? Kevin Garnett is the next eligible player who would likely be considered, but will the Celtics retire his number? Paul Pierce’s thinks it’s a given. From ESPN’s Chris Forsberg:
“Without a doubt, KG’s number will be [the next one] retired in Boston,” said Pierce. “It’s going to happen.”
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said the team has had informal discussions about retiring Garnett’s number, but that a final decision would come from ownership.
Whether or not the Celtics retire Garnett’s number is more up in the air than Pierce is making it sound. He was a terrific and beloved Celtic and was arguably the most vital piece of the team’s 2008 championship squad, but he only played in Boston for six years. As Ainge points out, however, those were six extremely valuable years:
“It was six years of potential championship-caliber teams and All-Star play from KG,” said Ainge. “I think that it was a pretty significant impact he had in those six years.”
Garnett will certainly have his number retired in Minnesota; he played there for 14 years and was the best player that the Timberwolves have ever had.
Garnett loved being a Celtic, though, and according to Pierce, would rather see his numbers go up into the rafters in Boston than Minnesota:
“[Garnett would] rather have his jersey retired in Boston than in Minnesota,” said Pierce. “He’ll eventually have his number retired with the Timberwolves, too, but he’ll have to wait until management sells the team.”
At the moment, the Celtics have a higher bar than probably any other team when it comes to which jerseys they retire since they’ve already retired so many.
Brian Scalabrine and Al Horford echoed Pierce’s belief that Garnett absolutely deserves to have his jersey retired.
