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The photo went viral before practice even ended Thursday. There, in gray shorts and an aqua blue top, was Kevin Garnett playing basketball with Blake Griffin on the third day of the Los Angeles Clippers training camp. Thats right -- recently retired, 40-year-old Kevin Garnett, who won a title with Clippers coach Doc Rivers and Clippers forward Paul Pierce. Was he coming back? To play and give the Clippers veteran leadership? To coach? Or maybe just to scare DeAndre Jordan into making more free throws?In an interview with ESPNs Jackie MacMullan, Rivers acknowledged that he tried to persuade Garnett to play for the Clippers in an emeritus role before he made a final decision about retirement. Garnett passed.But think about how quickly you envisioned that transition. How easy it was to see KG in that wise man role. How much the Clippers still seem to need that championship experience and guidance going into Year 6 of the Lob City era.Year 6!If it seems like the time has gone by quickly, well, you havent lived through the painful and humiliating playoff losses like Griffin, Jordan and Chris Paul have.Unfortunately for me, Ive had 11 summers of going into the summer knowing what its like not to win a championship, Paul said.Two of the five seasons have ended with Griffin and Paul suffering serious injuries that required surgery in the offseason.Another season was marred by the Donald Sterling scandal; the other two featured monumental collapses (blowing a 2-0 series lead vs. Memphis and a 3-1 series lead vs. Houston).In between, Jordan round-tripped to Dallas; Griffin broke his hand on a team staffers face and Paul made two of the most un-Chris-Paul-like plays youll ever see at the end of a playoff game in Oklahoma City.There has been an ownership change, a coaching change, at least three front-office rearrangements, even a new mascot. (Yep, Chuck the Condor has been renewed for Season 2.)All of this happened in the five years since Paul was traded to L.A.; and Jordan and Griffin made that endearing Lob City video outside the practice facility.Watching that video now, they look so young and innocent compared to the men who sat on stage together earlier this week at media day.Both Griffin and Paul can become free agents next summer, meaning all sorts of personal and organizational decisions lie ahead. Do the Clippers dare risk losing one or both in free agency without getting anything in return? Or do they feel compelled to trade one, both or someone else during the season to make sure there isnt a crater in the middle of Steve Ballmers $2 billion franchise next summer? Over the years, if you spoke to people in and around the franchise, youd hear wildly different opinions on what the future would look like. Part of that was because everyone was waiting to get a read on what kind of owner Ballmer was going to be. How patient would the notoriously emotional owner be? How long would he defer to Rivers on basketball decisions? Thus far, Ballmer has remained at a respectful distance. His biggest intervention this summer was green-lighting indulgent contracts to keep Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford. Of course the Clippers had no choice but to pay their own free agents because the team was so far over the cap; it had no real options at replacing anyone who departed. Still, can you see Sterling giving Crawford $42 million? Not a chance.So after three years of Ballmers ownership, it might just be long enough to draw some conclusions. Most importantly, according to Clippers insiders, Ballmer is committed to keeping both Griffin and Paul long term, no matter what it costs.Do both want to stay? Thats impossible to predict nine months out from free agency. But its hard to imagine either finding as good of a setup as they have in Los Angeles. Both have firmly planted roots in L.A., with deep ties to the business and entertainment worlds. Paul has essentially become a CEO-in-training, befriending executives he does business with and those who frequent Clippers games; Griffin is a superstar pitchman and budding comic.As for the idea theyd make a blockbuster trade, consider this: The only way the Clippers get a decent return is if Paul and/or Griffin agreed to waive their player option for next season, or guaranteed theyd re-sign long term in the city they were traded. Theres no compelling reason for either of them to do that after the infusion of television rights money spikes the salary cap up to more than $100 million next summer.Rivers has already publicly said the team isnt trading Griffin at least a dozen times now. Its heresy to even bring up trading Paul. Jordan has turned into the best defensive center in the game, and hes locked up on a very reasonable contract for two more seasons.So while this is still a pivotal season for the Clippers core group, its probably not their last stand.Which brings us back to Garnett shooting jumpers with the Clippers on Thursday.Four years ago, Rivers was brought to L.A. in the hopes his championship pedigree would get the Clippers over the top.Last season, Pierce was signed for the same reason.Now, KG is in the gym, teaching as Rivers put it.Something has been missing. Something is still needed. As Pierce himself said, based on talent alone, the Clippers do have something of a super team with Paul, Griffin, Jordan, JJ Redick (the best 3-point shooter in the league) and Crawford (a three-time Sixth Man of the Year award winner). So why havent they won a title yet? And can they still do so in an NBA in which Kevin Durant just joined the 73-win Golden State Warriors?On talent alone, L.A. is still one of the top three or four best teams in the NBA along with Golden State, Cleveland and San Antonio.Other teams in the past have been probably just as deep, Crawford said. But Im not sure it was the right guys at the right time.This just feels like the perfect storm as far as guys who want to win, are competitive enough at the right time frame in their lives about whats important.Adidas NMD Belgie . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Adidas Tennis Hu Kopen . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. http://www.nmdbelgie.com/kopen-adidas-nmd-heren-sale/nmd-R2-heren.html . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Adidas Zx 9000 Kopen . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. Adidas NMD R1 Dames Sale . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night.SAN FRANCISCO - The Cincinnati Reds found just about every way to beat the San Francisco Giants this season after falling in frustrating fashion to the World Series champions last October. Mike Leake led the latest — and perhaps wackiest — performance Wednesday night, pitching six-plus innings of wildly effective ball in Cincinnatis 8-3 victory over San Francisco. Leake (10-4) allowed a career-high 12 hits but gave up just one run. He also snapped an 0-for-26 skid — his longest hitless streak — with the third three-hit game of his career. "I dont know if that combination happens too often," Leake said. The last pitcher to give up at 12 least hits and record three of his own was Houstons Mike Hampton at Colorado on July 28, 1999. Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Devin Mesoraco each drove in two runs to power the Reds to another impressive win against the Giants. After allowing San Francisco to rally from an 0-2 deficit to win the NL division series last fall, Cincinnati finished 6-1 against the Giants this season — and most of the wins werent even close. The Reds outscored San Francisco 45-14 in seven games, including Homer Baileys no-hitter on July 2. They also outscored the Giants 31-11 in four games this week at AT&T Park. The 55 hits in the last four games are the most by a team at San Francisco since the Dodgers had 60 in another four-game series from July 1-4, 1977, at Candlestick Park. "They pretty much had their way with us," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. In the series finale, the Giants had 15 hits — including five singles by Hunter Pence — while the Reds had just 13 total. But San Francisco was 4 for 16 with runners in scoring position and stranded 15 on base. Adding to the embarrassment, even the chalk that makes up the batters box was off-centre. Buster Posey was out of the starting lineup after playing first base in the opener and catching the second game of Tuesdays doubleheader. He grounded into a fielders choice as a pinch hitter in the seventh, when the Giants loaded the bases with no outs before reliever Sam LeCure shut them down. Chad Gaudin (4-2) gave up six runs and seven hits in 3 2-3 innings in his worst — and shortest — start of the year for San Francisco. He also allowed a season-high five walks. "Weve played better than them. I dont really know if theres a way to explain it," said Reds right fielder Jay Bruce, who had two hits and also one RBI. In the last regular-season matchup of this one-sided series, the formula remained the same: early runs and patchwork pitching ffor a runaway Reds win.dddddddddddd Shin-Soo Choo hit a leadoff double, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on Vottos flyout to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead in the first inning. In the third, Votto scored from first when Pence missed Phillips two-out single to right field. The ball trickled off the glove of Gregor Blanco behind him. Bruce followed with an RBI double, and Mesoraco had an RBI single to put the Reds ahead 4-0. Pence matched his career high with five hits, including a single in the third that put San Francisco on the board. But after Brandon Belt singled, Jeff Francoeur grounded into an inning-ending double play. The Reds manufactured two more runs in the fourth. Votto drove in a run when he grounded out with the bases loaded, and Phillips hit a sacrifice fly to extend Cincinnatis lead to 6-1. The Giants also loaded the bases in the fourth — and wasted that scoring opportunity. Leake got Pablo Sandoval to pop out, ending San Franciscos rally. After Votto tripled leading off the sixth, Phillips singled him home. Mesoracos two-out single put the Reds up 8-1, sending a large chunk of the announced sellout crowd of 41,512 to the exits. Sandovals two-run double off Logan Ondrusek in the eighth accounted for the only other San Francisco runs. Reds manager Dusty Baker, mindful of San Franciscos remarkable rallies last October, even had closer Aroldis Chapman warming up in the bullpen — just in case. "You cant figure it out," Baker said. "We dominated them in the first two games of the series last year, then they came back and won. So its just baseball. Ive been around so long, nothing surprises me too much. I just like to win." NOTES: Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong said "everything feels pretty good" after throwing two scoreless innings in his first rehab assignment Tuesday in the Arizona Rookie League. Vogelsong, sidelined since breaking bones in his right pinkie on May 20, will throw about 40-45 pitches for Class-A San Jose at Stockton on Friday. ... Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti missed the game after having surgery on his left elbow. He will be back with the team Friday. Bullpen coach Mark Gardner was the active pitching coach, and part-time coach Shawon Dunston was added to the staff. ... Reds SS Zack Cozart sat out with a sore hip. He is day to day. ... Mat Latos (9-3, 3.53 ERA) starts for the Reds against Zack Greinke (8-2, 3.36) in the opener of a four-game series at the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. ... The Giants are off Thursday. They begin a three-game series at home against the Chicago Cubs on Friday. ' ' '