Kevin Garnett recently sat down with both the AP and USA Today and opened up an old wound with current Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor on his fallout with the team and how they handled the passing of Flip Saunders.
Garnett told Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press, that he envisioned having a large role in the decision-making process when he was ready to retire from the NBA.
But that all changed when Saunders passed away and the Wolves’ ownership went in a different direction, hiring Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden to run the team.
“I love those young guys,” Garnett said to the AP referring to Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine. “I told Thibs I want to work with him, but obviously me and Glen don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things and that’s how it’s going to be.”
The former NBA MVP then went into great detail about how the team mishandled a memorial service for Saunders, before they opened their 2015-16 season against the Portland Trail Blazzers at the Target Center.
The tribute included video testimonies from players and coaches but Garnett was not a part of the video because he, “couldn’t put a lifetime of friendship into three minutes.”
“How do you put a time limit on something like that?” Garnett said.
You have high school banners, you have (expletive) hockey banners (hanging in the rafters). You couldn’t put a Flip banner in Target Center, some place that we helped build? We established that market. I helped grow that with him. You can’t put him in the rafters?
Garnett also told Adi Joseph of USA Today that he was also disappointed that no one showed him, “the true Glen Taylor.”
It showed me how he really feels. When this guy got the team, it was worth $90 million. When I left it, it was worth somewhere in the $400 (millions). That was never taken into account in my value or none of that. I guess I served my purpose, and I was on to the next. So it’s all good. So it’s all good. I’m moving on and taking my ball and playing somewhere else.
