Longest-Tenured Wolves

[Klomp]

All this talk about the best players in franchise history got me thinking about who's been here the longest. Its pretty underwhelming, folks...

Kevin Garnett - 12 seasons
Sam Mitchell - 10 seasons
Doug West - 9 seasons
Wally Szczerbiak - 7 seasons
Mark Madsen - 6 seasons
Anthony Peeler - 6 seasons
Micheal Williams - 6 seasons
Dean Garrett - 5 seasons
Troy Hudson - 5 seasons
Rasho Nesterovic - 5 seasons

[shrink]

Player movement is just the way of the NBA.

A few years ago, I got tired of seeing people on the Trade Board say, "We aren't trading our rookie, because he'll be our starting <insert position> for the next ten years."

I went and checked, and at the time, Garnett was the only guy in the league who had been on his team for ten years, followed by Kobe at 9.

As we well know with KG here, no matter how much home-town love a player may have from fans, the contribution a player makes changes over time, just like the needs of the team change.

[C.lupus]

Somehow I didn't realize Madsen was here for 6 seasons.

[jade_hippo]

and didn't Sam spend 4 years in Indy between Wolves stints?

*edit* checked and it was only 3 years as a Pacer.

[farmtownte]

It's really sad that only 10 guys have 5+ years with the wolves.

[Breakdown777]

It's really sad that only 10 guys have 5+ years with the wolves.

If you look at the league since the Wolves inception (1989), you'll notice that not too many teams hold on to a player for very long. If you look after 2000, that number shrinks even more due to the money management side of things like expiring contracts, cap space issues, and players chasing rings or paychecks. When debating who that player will be recognized as, or the "who would retire the jersey" discussion, ground can get muddy pretty quick.

Is KG a Wolf or a Celtic?
Randolph a Blazer or a Grizzly?
Billups a Nugget, Piston, Knick?
You could go on forever.