A future this bright feels like a dream for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it's up to Kevin Garnett to ensure it becomes a reality.
Times have been tough lately for a franchise whose short history features an outsized number of long years. There were botched drafts, free-agent signings gone bad and Garnett's would-be heir, Kevin Love, leaving the team after a brief period of relative prosperity. There were plenty of mistakes during Garnett's tenure, but his presence always helped mask them.
When he left, the Timberwolves' gaffes lost their superstar cover.
Garnett won a championship with the Boston Celtics upon his 2007 exit, so the mutual decision to split worked out better for one side than the other.