He’s become the standard for playing it safe. You’ve got to take some chances to get out, to go somewhere else. Maybe you have to prove yourself again. It’s always easier to stay in the same job, the same neighborhood, the same house, to put up the good numbers and escape the blame. It has to be someone else’s fault.

This is the fault of Garnett. We’ve seen him make big plays, be the defensive anchor, star in All-Star games and on an Olympic team and win just about every individual award imaginable. We just have never seen him take a chance on true greatness by putting himself in the best position possible and perhaps leave behind everything that is comfortable.

It’s not too late. But it’s up to Garnett. We’d all love to see him with a chance to win an NBA championship. You wonder if we want it more than he does.

Q: I heard a rumor floating around of a possible deal of Chris Webber to New York. Is there any truth to that?
— Tom, Philadelphia
A. From the 76ers’ side. Isn’t it interesting how everyone but the guy making the deal knows the deal? Hardly anyone could believe the 76ers were taking on Webber, his knees declining with a huge contract and a game that wouldn’t fit with Allen Iverson. So Webber plays 75 games, averages 20 points and they don’t even make the playoffs. So now the 76ers figured out Webber can’t play with Iverson. So they’re trying to trade him. He has two years left at $20.7 million and $22.3 million. So teams, understandably, are low-balling the 76ers in terms of talent. The 76ers made a bid with the Knicks, who offered a bunch of excess with long-term contracts, like Malik Rose and Quentin Richardson. The 76ers probably would have taken it just to get out from under Webber, but their contracts are longer. But if the Knicks offered Jalen Rose with a one-year deal, the 76ers likely would take it. But I don’t see the Knicks taking on more money with their payroll.

Q: Do you think that Paul Allen decided not to sell the Blazers because he plans to move the team to Seattle after the Sonics leave for Oklahoma City?
— Phillip Fisher, Lincoln City, Ore.
A. This one is going to be tough to sort out, though I don’t see the NBA accommodating Allen after all the heck he’s put them through in Portland. My guess for him, it’s Portland or out of the NBA. The league keeps talking about the Hornets returning to New Orleans and has owner George Shinn saying so now. My guess is Shinn knows there’s no way New Orleans can support a pro basketball team (they were among the lowest in the league in attendance even before Hurricane Katrina), so he doesn’t want to get in a fight with commissioner David Stern and will let the league finally be the one — after maybe a move back for a season — to realize it won’t work.  So even though the Oklahoma City guys got the Sonics, Oklahoma City may not be open. So it’s no sure thing yet that the Sonics are leaving.

Q: Is Carmelo Anthony, with his performance on the USA team, now showing that he is a superstar?
— Steven Fendrich, Littleton, Colo.

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A. He’s getting close. He has been the best scorer on the team and hits big shots, but he’s still a goofball, like when he inbounded the ball against Puerto Rico even though he was out of the game. It resulted in a technical foul and a huge turnaround that cost the U.S. team perhaps seven points. In a close game, it could have been fatal. He’s a terrific scorer and seems like he’s trying to play team ball and some defense to clear his name from the 2004 embarrassment. But he’s still somewhat unpredictable, a one-way player last season and in the midst of some serious dysfunction on the Nuggets. This season will show a lot for him if he can rally that team after the firing of Kiki Vandeweghe and the suspension of Kenyon Martin in the playoffs.

Q: Is Latrell Sprewell going to play again in the NBA?
— Glenn Zellars, Shaker Heights, Ohio
A. I assume so. He should be rested. Friends say Sprewell is done and apparently feeding his family well on his last season’s salary of $14.6 million. No, he’s not about to get out from under that stupid comment. But the best thing about Sprewell is that stuff never bothered him and unlike most players wasn’t particularly affected by what people said or wrote about him. He will be 36 next month, but the way the NBA now is with so much parity and teams believing they can go from non-playoff positions to in contention for the conference finals, I expect several teams to come after him, and Sprewell to surface somewhere. You can see the Knicks trying it with Isiah running the team. The Spurs and Heat always have had their eyes on Sprewell and the Timberwolves may be so desperate he could come back there with Garnett. Maybe even the Bucks since Sprewell often is in his native Milwaukee and if you can go for Ruben Patterson, Sprewell can be a calming force.