“I’m proud of our association with Kevin, just seeing him grow over the years”, Wolves owner Glen Taylor told The Associated Press. I wish him continued success in the next chapter of his life.
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As a fan of the game, thank you for the memories.
The Timberwolves hired Tom Thibodeau as coach and president in the offseason as well as a new general manager in Scott Layden. That’s what the San Antonio Spurs did for Tim Duncan when he retired this summer. That would be waiving Garnett, which will guarantee him the $8 million left on his contract.
“Kevin Garnett is one of the fiercest competitors our league has ever seen”, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement released by the league.
The plan involved Garnett and the side’s coach Flip Saunders, who coached Minnesota between 1995 and 2005, before making a return to the franchise in 2014. During his 21-year career, he scored 19,201 of his 26,071 points and took down 10,718 of his 14,662 rebounds for Minnesota.
KG, who entered the National Basketball Association straight out of high school in 1995 and spent the first 12 years of his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, made plenty of headlines and claimed plenty of honors.
Garnett was the NBA’s rebounding champion for four straight seasons from 2003-04 to 2006-07. After missing the postseason in the Big Ticket’s rookie year, they made eight straight postseason appearances, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2004.
The Wolves never made the playoffs again. The victory total then dropped to 33 and 32.
He was unfortunately never able to lead the Timberwolves to a title but got his hands on the Larry O’Brien trophy in 2008 as part of the “big three” with the Boston Celtics. This tribute will likely come when Garnett is ready to step back into the Target Center without his name in the lineup announcement, which, if he is true to his character, could be awhile.
Garnett spent the bulk of his career in Minnesota.
The Celtics returned to the championship series in 2010, losing to the Lakers in five games.
FILE – In this September 20, 2013, file photo, Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Garnett poses for a portrait during NBA basketball media day at the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of NY.
“He changed our culture”, Doc Rivers once said. “That is the goal. That has been my goal since I became a Wolf.”. Saunders envisioned KG as a mentor for the young team he was building, but also planned to include Garnett as a part-owner in a group that Saunders was assembling to buy the team. “If you have a story, this is a fairy tale”. He says he never expected to feel the love he did during his National Basketball Association career. “This is full-circle right here.”.
Aged 40 Garnett leaves behind a legacy of rare intensity and power forward play, but does he feel too old to go on?
So much has changed since.
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That said, Garnett provided many memorable moments as a member of the Nets, including one in which he gave Joe Johnson the nickname “Joe Jesus”. The two sides came to agreement on a buyout on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, the person said.
