The KG Effect: Not measurable by points, rebounds or PER

Dave D'Alessandro recounts several Kevin Garnett "moments" in his piece extolling the Nets big trade, but here's our favorite.

We still can’t forget the visual captured by ESPN during the 2010 postseason, when KG came to the bench at a particularly emotional moment in a game against Orlando, his eyes ablaze, and his lips spitting these words at Rasheed Wallace:

"Put a bullet in these. . . ." he screamed. "Put a bullet in these…."

His own eyes fixed on the scoreboard, Sheed looked as comfortable as someone who just wandered into downtown Damascus.

With the trade, aka The Trade for The Big Ticket and The Truth, now 60 hours old, Dave D is one of several writers who take long looks at the KG Effect on the Nets. Stefan Bondy and Frank Isola of the Daily News, Howard Beck of the Times all agree that the Nets got better primarily because of what Garnett brings in terms of toughness and leadership. He is now the fifth highest paid player on the team and the oldest, but he IS the leader.

More from Dave D (who we miss ... at lot) on what KG said when told a particular player was joining the Celtics.

"Yeah, he can play with this team," Garnett said after a moment’s reflection and a few strokes of his beard. "But if he doesn’t play defense, no one will be allowed to talk to him."

Unquote. He wasn’t smiling when he said it, which figures, because there is almost nothing about this game that Garnett finds amusing.

Bondy thinks the whole culture will benefit from Garnett, but points to two Nets who are likely to benefit the most..

Garnett, aka The Big Ticket, will demand more out of Brook Lopez. He’ll make sure the intensity never drops in critical moments. He’ll give rookie head coach Jason Kidd an ally in his locker-room struggle for the greater good.

And Isola, ever the Instigator, reminds us all of how much Carmelo Anthony loves KG ... and how much KG loves Honey Nut Cheerios. With Garnett on the Nets, it will be all about provocation.

All it takes is one insult from Garnett, one sharp elbow from Smith or a snide comment from Prokhorov and, before you know it, they’ll all be meeting by the ramp at the Garden.

And if you'd like a former teammates' perspective, here's former Net and Celtic Brian Scalabrine from early last season.