The Boston Celtics will be the first franchise to set out to retire Kevin Garnett's jersey, slated to come at some point next season. Many have wondered why the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team that had Garnett for the longest stretch, has yet to do so.
A simple way to put it is his strained relationship with owner Glen Taylor, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic describes on this excerpt:
“The Timberwolves would retire Garnett’s jersey tomorrow if they could. He is far and away the most accomplished and most popular player to ever suit up here. The lone stretch of modest success enjoyed by the team was in KG’s prime,” wrote Krawczynski. “There appeared at one point to be a possible thawing of the iciness as recently as last season. But Garnett remains upset at owner Glen Taylor for the way things ended and a promise that he believes was broken. “
After 12 years of building around Garnett, the Timberwolves believed a new direction was required. The Timberwolves were coming off of a 32-50 season, missing the playoffs for a third straight time and wholeheartedly believing their championship window around the 31-year-old star was closing.
Garnett fought the trade to the Celtics until Boston acquired Ray Allen from the Seattle SuperSonics, giving him the potential to form something big in Bean Town.
“I never requested a trade because I viewed ‘Sota as mine,” Garnett told The Athletic last season. “I built this house. I’m not leaving this god damn house. You can get the f*ck up out of here. You don’t like it, then leave.”
Garnett, who missed the final five games of the 2006-07 season with a knee injury, grew further apart from Taylor when the owner was asked if Minnesota tanked down the stretch during their last season with The Big Ticket.
“I’d say KG tanked it,” Taylor said then, referring to Garnett missing those final five games.
The two have since been in a cold war — and while KG came back to Minnesota to play his last 43 games there, things were never the same.
Maybe one day Taylor and Garnett will make amends, but it will take a clear-the-room honest conversation between the two men and some heartfelt apologies to restore a relationship that has been broken for longer than a decade.
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