No NBA fan here either, but Garnett is one of the few who managed the high school - NBA jump smoothly and seems to be a good guy. However, he is well on the downside of his career and IMHO was when the T’wolves let him go to Boston. The Nets are sadly mistaken in thinking he and Pierce - no youngster either - are going to lead a renaissance.
I think the Nets think the presence of these veterans plus the young core they have led by Darrin Williams is a formula that can work right now. The East is relatively weak right now, outside of Miami, so they may be right. The Bulls (with Rose) and Pacers are the only possible rivals to the Heat until this move.
If the Nets see success, the younger guys are going to have to lead the way. These older guys will likely be pretty gassed by May or June. They can be bit contributors like Ray Allen was in Miami. I don’t believe the Heat win without Allen. They may not have even got passed the Pacers.