It's official: Kevin Garnett and his 'cuss button' are coming to NBA on TNT

Kevin Garnett’s postgame interviews were appointment viewing.

Whether he was comparing team chemistry to frying up a tortilla or baking a cake, advising a team owner to stick to his “checkbooks and bottom lines” instead of “X’s and O’s,” or talking about our “garbage interviews,” “pathetic articles” and “lousy analysis,” you wanted to know what he was going to say, even if, as was his custom, he kept the media waiting for an hour after the final whistle.

So, it makes sense that the NBA on TNT would want him to join the league’s highest-rated studio show. But count me among those who never thought Garnett would actually say yes to joining a media he often thanked for writing columns he said he never read but heard enough about to use as motivation.

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However, after much speculation early Thursday surrounding a hype video teasing NBA on TNT’s “fresh perspective from a basketball icon” next week, which ended with what appeared to be KG’s silhouette, the crew later introduced the Hall of Famer as its newest member. In what Garnett called “my next chapter,” he will join the show from his “own space,” still under construction, presumably closer to his home in Malibu than the Turner Sports studios in Atlanta. “You might not like what I say,” Garnett vowed to the viewers, “but I promise you this: I’m going to keep it 100 percent real.”

According to a press release, Garnett signed a multi-year deal to appear weekly throughout the season from a standalone set, where he “will be joined by special guests from the worlds of entertainment and sports and give fans a colorful look at the game from his unique perspective.”

His biggest criticism of the media has been that we don’t know what we’re talking about. If anybody knows the ins and outs of the NBA game, it’s Garnett after 21 seasons, and NBA on TNT will offer him the opportunity to analyze basketball in ways that probably won’t be garbage, pathetic and lousy.

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“I have opinions on this game,” Garnett said in a promotional ad. “It comes from years on the court — 21, to be exact. I can break down situations, teams and players. I can spot weaknesses, and I recognize strengths, so am I the media now? The next talking head? Nah, I’m KG, and I’m coming to TNT.”

Appearing on Thursday’s broadcast, Garnett, if you can believe it, appeared nervous at times, although maybe that’s to be expected, since he’s known no other job than “NBA player” since age 19.

“It’s definitely strange not being out there [playing],” said KG. “I told a couple people this: The weird part for me is not preparing for this year, and what I mean by that is training, shooting, running — all that’s over. Now I’m into a position to where I’m trying to find something to do with myself and fill my time, so I’m doing that. I’m figuring it out now, and retirement is well. I’m having fun with it.”

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Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue, who, along with ex-Boston Celtics bench-mate Doc Rivers, was trying to recruit Garnett to serve on his staff last month, said KG’s wife Brandi was, as you might expect with someone so intense around the house, pushing for him to channel his considerable energy somewhere. Garnett is taking his first step in that direction with this role, however limited.

Coaching prospects may not be out of the realm of possibility, either, according to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reported Garnett could serve as a roaming consultant for multiple teams.

While many ex-players turned analysts struggle to criticize guys they just faced (or coached) on the court, Garnett was never too concerned with making friends outside his own locker room while an active player, and we should expect that to carry over into his broadcasting career. That characteristic has also served Charles Barkley well. It didn’t take long for Garnett to take someone to task, either.

As the crew aired an old “Shaqtin’ a Fool” segment, showing him blowing in David West’s face a couple years back, Garnett told everyone watching, “I blew in his face; he didn’t do nothing. I mean …”

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What might separate Garnett from the show’s two other Hall of Fame ex-frontcourt players — Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal — who believe today’s game is softer than it was in their day, is that KG is an introspective thinker who has spent the tail end of his 21-year career mentoring young players. Given his first opportunity to analyze on Thursday, he acclimated himself well on a question about his recent mentee on the Minnesota Timberwolves, 2015-16 Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns.

“Big KAT can be as good as he wants to be,” said Garnett. “The sky’s the limit for this kid. He does everything — posts up, handles the ball, passes well, willing passer, loves the 3-point shot a little more than I’d like him to, but he’s going to be something special, man. He just has to continue to work hard like he always does. He’s the first in the gym — and he’s really the first in the gym — but his work ethic is impeccable, man. This is one of the things that, to me, stands out when it comes to these young boys these days. His work ethic stands out, hands down, from anybody else I’ve seen.”

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The only real concern about Garnett appearing on live television is that the colorful language he’s come to be known for on the court and in the locker room might result in an FCC violation or a dozen. But Garnett’s got that covered, too. “I’ve got to have the cuss button right here,” he said. “We good.”

Kevin Garnett postgame interviews are still appointment viewing.

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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach