Kevin Garnett might easily be one of the best players who ever played with Minnesota Timberwolves, and still, he doesn’t have his jersey in the rafters of Target Center. And if it’s up to Garnett, there won’t be one as long as Glen Taylor owns the team.
Garnett, who spent 14 seasons in Minnesota, recently had a chat with The Athletic and told the media outlet that he is “not entertaining” the idea of having his No. 21 jersey retired by the Timberwolves. The main reason for this is Garnett’s conflict with Taylor.
“Glen knows where I’m at. I’m not entertaining it. First of all, it’s not genuine. Two, he’s getting pressure from a lot of fans and, I guess, the community there,” said Garnett.
After leaving Timberwolves in 2007 and playing with Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, Kevin Garnett returned to Minnesota in 2014 to finish his career with the organization. Garnett was brought back by team president Flip Saunders, who also promised him a minority ownership stake in the team. However, Saunders died in 2015, and Taylor decided not to respect the deal after.
“Glen and I had an understanding before [former team president] Flip [Saunders] died, and when Flip died, that understanding went with Flip,” Garnett explained. “For that, I won’t forgive Glen. I won’t forgive him for that. I thought he was a straight-up person, straight-up businessman, and when Flip died, everything went with him.”
During his time with Timberwolves, Garnett won the NBA MVP award, earned three All-NBA First Team honors, and was selected nine times to the All-Star team.
