Get Joe Smith a Security Detail

We need to make sure Kevin Garnett doesn't kill Joe Smith in the coming weeks and months. No, seriously.

Could any one player in the NBA hate another player as much as KG probably hates Smith right now? Obviously, this has nothing to do with Smith himself, I'm sure he's a charming man. However, the facts paint an ugly picture:

Fact #1: Joe Smith was highly overrated coming out of college, going #1 overall despite possessing a limited game.

Fact #2: Smith was frequently referred to as a "bust" during his first three years, spent with Golden State and Philly. Over that period of time he averaged 16.2 points and 7.8 boards while shooting a paltry 45%. Those are Nenad Krstic numbers ... except my boy Nenad shoots a much higher percentage.

Fact #3: For what could best be described as an average power forward, Kevin McHale broke a whole bunch of NBA rules in an attempt to sign Joe Smith under market value in exchange for a wink-wink future deal. The NBA found out about it after the fact, stepped in and voided the contract, and Smith signed with the Pistons.

Fact #4: Somehow, Smith found his way back to the Wolves, so that KG and everyone else had to look at him on the bench while they suffered without any draft picks. The five-year ban finally ended and they took Randy Foye last year.

Fact #5: Scratch that, this one isn't a fact. Hold on.

Rumor #1: It appears that the Wolves were unable to get Iverson because they didn't have a 2007 draft pick to include in the package. This pick was lost when McHale traded Sam Cassell for Marko Jaric, which is a bad enough trade even before you factor in the knowledge that the Wolves were the ones giving up a first round pick to sweeten the deal. Holy hell.

Fact #5: The Wolves don't have a 2007 draft pick because they used it to acquire Marko Jaric. (I had to type it again just to be sure it was real.) So even though the Smith Incident didn't cost them the '07 pick, it symbolizes the whole situation.

Fact #6: Joe Smith is involved in the deal that does net Iverson for the Nuggets. KG has to sit by while his team does nothing, has no draft picks, and the guy that screwed up a half a decade for his Wolves is sent to Philly in exchange for the very player that Garnett desperately wants to be his teammate.

Could this be any more painful for KG? Could there be more irony? How does Kevin McHale still have a job?

Joe Smith better hope that KG doesn't piece all this together.