NBA players that have no contracts for the 2012-13 season are set to become free agents just after midnight on July 1st, setting off a frenzy of agreements (but not signings, as the teams and players can’t official put pen to paper until July 11th) even in the early hours of Sunday. Boston Celtics center Kevin Garnett decided to bypass on the whole early morning thing altogether, agreeing on a three-year, $34 million contract extension (as first reported by Yahoo! Sports) on Saturday in an agreement that the Boston Herald initially relayed , one that more or less ensures Kevin Garnett will never be an active unrestricted free agent a single time in what could be a 20-year career.
Think about it. Garnett signed an extension during the summer of 1997 to avoid a free agent recruitment in what turned out to be a truncated offseason in January of 1999. He signed another extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2003 to avoid 2004 free agency, and a three-year extension in 2007 after being traded to the Boston Celtics to avoid 2010 free agency. This time around, KG snuck it in with just hours to spare. And in doing so, signed off on what will probably be the last three years of his storied career.
And, in concert, the Boston Celtics signed off on just about more of the same — the veteran-y same — along the way.
Jun 302012