A Legend in Limbo: The Curious Case of Kevin Garnett and His 22nd Season

Courtesy of USA TODAY Sports.

Dr. J continues his look at the changing attitudes and the changing of the guard at 600 North 1st Avenue by reflecting on roller-coaster relationship between Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves, and ruminating on the future for "The Franchise" within the franchise.
---

On May 20, Tom Thibodeau made his first moves as the new President of Basketball Operations of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He fired nine people. Among the departed were former general manager Milt Newton and assistant coach Sidney Lowe.

The news of a mass exodus from the organization may seem like a harsh way to start business but it is exactly what Thibodeau was hired to do: clean out the country club atmosphere that has stifled the organization’s progress and bring in a more respectable, higher functioning front office staff.

And while many employees’ jobs are still up in the air, no fate is more intriguing than that of franchise icon Kevin Garnett.

Garnett and the Timberwolves’ success have been synonymous. He is the living legend that is responsible for the only accomplishments the franchise has achieved to date. He holds Timberwolves records in almost every statistical category, including, but not limited to, games played, points, rebounds, steals, assists, blocks...name a stat and chances are Garnett holds the franchise record.

Dr. J, much like ball, don't lie. Courtesy of SportsCenter's Twitter.

To say he has meant a lot to the organization would be putting it lightly. But as the franchise undergoes a change, Garnett is left with an interesting decision on what to do with the final year of a peculiar contract that includes an option to move from a place on the court to a position in the front office.

The Birth of “The Big Ticket”

The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Kevin Garnett with the fifth overall pick in the 1995 draft. The selection, made by former GM Kevin McHale and the late Flip Saunders, was viewed as a considerable risk considering Garnett was the first player to go straight to the NBA from high school in 20-plus years.

The gamble quickly paid dividends as Garnett rewarded the franchise by leading the Timberwolves to their first playoff appearance in his second year, paving the way for a string of basketball successes that the Timberwolves have not been able to reproduce since. But all good stories must come to an end, and in 2007, Garnett closed one chapter of Timberwolves basketball and moved to greener pastures in Boston. Here, he would cement his legacy as a future Hall of Famer by winning the 2008 NBA championship with the Celtics.

Despite moving away, Garnett has always had a strong loyalty to Minnesota and his former coach, mentor, and friend, Flip Saunders. He never wanted to leave Minnesota, much preferring to build a champion where it all started rather than find glory elsewhere. But after multiple embarrassing front office failures to keep the team competitive, Garnett and the Wolves missed the playoffs in three straight seasons from 2005 to 2007 and the organization began looking for scapegoats and a strategy to rebuild the roster. With better opportunities to win elsewhere, Garnett was eventually convinced to waive his no trade clause in the summer of 2007 to join Paul Pierce and Ray Allen on the Celtics.

[Side note: the Timberwolves are currently approaching Year 10 of that rebuilding process.]

In case you forgot what Year 1 of the rebuilding process looked like. Courtesy of Getty Images.

While in Boston, though, his heart held a place for Minnesota. In the on-court interview immediately following his sole NBA championship, Garnett proclaimed, “this one is for everybody in ‘Sota”, referring to dwellers in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. When he moved on to Brooklyn, Garnett still always considered Minnesota a home. Former coach Doc Rivers has said as much about Garnett; he once called KG "the most loyal human being alive.” This loyalty is exactly why he returned to Minnesota.

But Garnett’s ties to the organization haven’t always been so amicable. After trading Garnett to Boston, owner Glen Taylor couldn’t hold back his obtuse basketball opinions, telling media that he thought Garnett tanked the end of the season by sitting out the final 5 games, even though others in the organization had said they wanted to reduce his minutes down the stretch. 

(And keep in mind the Timberwolves are no strangers to—or fervent warriors against—tanking. This is the same organization that had all-time backup-scrub-of-the-year Mark Madsen miss seven three pointers the last game of the 2006 season. Seven! That’s only one less attempt than what Steph Curry averaged per game during last year’s Warriors run to the championship! In-game tanking can’t get much more blatant.)

Madsen has forged a successful post-NBA career, starring with Young MC in a series of PSA about how to bust a move responsibly. Courtesy of the LA Times.

Garnett was understandably livid after learning about Taylor’s comments. Undoubtedly the most intense competitor the franchise has ever seen, KG was understandably hurt by these comments and felt that his bond to the Timberwolves might have been irreparably damaged. At his introductory press conference in Boston, Garnett directed palpable distaste toward Glen Taylor’s organization when asked about leaving Minnesota, "I guess at the end of the day, I'm loyal to a point where I feel, if someone's loyal to me, then I have no problem with that. But when that changes, it's pretty easy for me [to leave].'' 

The Return of “The Kid” 

Bringing back Garnett to Minnesota was not easy. He is not one to leave a team in the middle of a season, much less ask to return a franchise that he felt disrespected him. But fueled by his relationship with Flip Saunders and loyalty to Minnesota, Garnett once again waived a no-trade clause in 2015 to come “home” and effectively re-join the country club Saunders re-created. 

The trade to re-acquire Garnett from the Brooklyn Nets was most certainly not a basketball move. Garnett was in the twilight of his career and contemplating retirement with career lows or near career lows in every statistical category. Yet, to acquire him, the Timberwolves were willing to part with Thaddeus Young, a more productive player 12 years younger than Garnett. And from Garnett’s standpoint, he decided to join a last place team with no hope of sniffing the playoffs. He surely could have found a trade to a contender but, instead, he passed up a final chance to chase a title to partner with Flip Saunders on the sidelines of a failed season. 

Flip and KG. Flip was 5' 11", and often referred to KG as being "six-foot-thirteen." Courtesy of downtownmpls.com.

His first stint back with the Timberwolves lasted a total of five games, as injuries ended his 2014-15 campaign early. But as it turned out, Garnett’s stop in Minnesota was not just a brief tour. In the summer of 2015, he signed with the Timberwolves for not one but TWO additional years in perhaps the strangest structured contract this basketball enthusiast has ever seen. The two-year, $16 million deal included a second year option not to play basketball, but to instead assume a role in the front office. A “country club” move, if you will. The details of the front office position are not well known but, with Garnett’s intense and active personality, it can be assumed that it was intended to be more than some honorary role. 

Before Saunders’ untimely death prior to the 2015-16 season, Garnett had publically stated his hope to partner with his former coach and purchase the team from Glen Taylor after his career ended. Thus, it is not farfetched to assume he was hoping a front office role might transition into a high impact position, perhaps similar to paths local icons and current NBA GMs Vlade Divac and Larry Bird have taken (as well as former front office flops Kevin McHale and Isiah Thomas).

Now, with the unexpected passing of Flip Saunders and the subsequent destruction of the front office country club, Garnett’s position is in limbo. The reasons for coming back to the Timberwolves have vanished. He no longer has the opportunity to play for Flip, he can no longer put together an ownership group with Flip, and his move to the front office is no longer appointed or approved by Flip. In fact, it is unclear if Thibodeau would even have a role for Garnett in the front office, if that was his preference.

The Future of “The Franchise”

At this point, that leaves Garnett limited options: either play out his contract or retire. (Another option would be to coach, but KG has two words for that suggestion: “HELL. NAH.”) Retirement would mean Garnett’s final NBA minutes were a forgetful two-point effort against Memphis on January 23, 2016. That is not the way Garnett would want to go out, and he certainly deserves better. 

The other option would be to play one more season. Garnett has bonded with the young roster, specifically last year’s #1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns. Helping foster the young group as they grow into a playoff team is exactly what Flip was hoping for when he brought in Garnett. Passing the torch to the next generation of successful Timberwolves would be a fitting and fulfilling end to the most storied career in the franchise’s history.

"The Kid," pictured here hiding behind an actual kid. Courtesy of Sports Illustrated.

But questions do remain. Does Thibodeau have room for him on the roster? What would his role be? Can he stay healthy? These are all topics of conversation that Garnett and Thibodeau will need to address sooner rather than later.

While it is concerning that the two have not yet discussed Garnett’s future with the team, Thibodeau and Garnett do have a history together. Thibodeau was an assistant coach on Boston’s 2008 championship team and was a supporter of the trade to bring Garnett back to Minnesota, telling reporters at the time, “I think it’s a great move for Minnesota. I saw firsthand how he affected the Celtics’ young players and all the players in a very positive way. It was through his actions, how he prepared to play, how he practiced. When you watch him play, he doesn’t get enough credit for how unselfish he is. When you have guys like that, it carries over to the rest of the team.”

Thibodeau explains the mechanics of his signature "Thibadunk" to Garnett at a Celtics practice. Courtesy of Mojave Desert News.

It is uncertain if Thibodeau would still value Garnett’s presence on the roster, but it is clear that Garnett himself would like the promises made to him from the previous front office to hold true: "I pride myself on being loyal. I think I've proven that by coming back home to finish my career. I need to see how the next few weeks turn out to truly understand if everyone has that same loyalty. Then I will know what my future holds."

Even Kevin Garnett is curious as to what the ending to his own story will be.