Major Pro-Athletes Strive to Win a Championship Before the Window of Opportunity Closes

With regards to the recent NBA trade of superstar Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Tiberwolves to the Boston Celtics it made me think about past athletes and the results of their chase to win a title.

When a superstar leaves a team to chase a championship with another team it rarely works out and in this case I believe the Celtics will not win even with Kevin Garnett.

Sure they have talent and other superstars like recently acquired sharpshooter Ray Allen from the Seattle Supersonics and Boston veteran Paul Pierce but what they might be missing once they all take the floor is team chemistry. Each of these players went from being the "franchise player" on one team where they were the center piece to a team where they are now all considered equal. At one time these superstars were the poster children for the individual franchises where management made broken promises to build a team around them. Now they are the building blocks instead of the foundation.

It took Kevin Garnett 12 seasons to get out of Minnesota and now it's too late. GM Kevin McHale failed to build around one of the best players in NBA history. I applaud Garnett for not taking the Kobe route and publicly demanding a trade. This only creates problems for Kobe and the L.A. Lakers because they are not very likely to trade him and because of this he becomes a distraction to the organization.

Many other athletes have tried to chase their dreams of becoming a champion for a team other than the one that drafted them because the organization failed to build around them or they didn't know when it was time to retire. The list includes the following players:

Jerry Rice-Raiders, Michael Jordan-Wizards, Charles Barkley-Rockets, Karl Malone-L.A. Lakers. This list goes on across multiple sports.

When these players made the move to play for other teams either through free agency or trades they were all on the downside of their careers. Each player has a small window to be successful and many factors depend on that success such as management's willingness to put together a team of quality players around the superstar and the health of players. Sure a team of superstars looks great on paper but it can lead fans through a season long of disappointment if one or more of those superstars gets hurt.

Remember when the Orlando Magic signed Tracey McGrady and Grant Hill? Everyone expected those two players to lead Orlando back to the playoffs. It never happened because Hill was hurt for multiple seasons. How about Charles Barkley joining the Rockets after seeing Clyde Drexler and Akeem Olajuwon win titles. Charles is one of the best NBA basketball players to never win a title because when he finally landed on a team with talent it was too late. This could possibly be the fate of Kevin Garnett as well.

In sports the recipe for success should be as follows.

- Players who play as a team by checking their ego's at the door. Examples: Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts.
Focusing on teamwork is the ultimate ingredient to success and if you can get athletes to forget about bank accounts and contract incentives long enough to
focus on winning you have a good start.

- Keeping everyone healthy. The healthier a team is the better chemistry it will have for a playoff run.

- Good leadership - From the general manager to the head coach to the players.

- No off field distractions. Contract issues, hold-outs, arrests, trade demands, etc. are all recipes for failure. Avoid these issues and keep the focus on the field
or court.

-Surrounding superstars with a good supporting cast.