Why Was Kevin Garnett Traded From Minnesota? Exploring NBA Veteran’s XYO Beef With Glen Taylor

With a total of 12 playoff appearances since formation and 8 consecutive under Kevin Garnett, the Minnesota Timberwolves never witnessed a valuable asset like KG. Notably, The Kid not only delivered a consistent performance for the Wolves but did so usually surrounded by an average or below-average roster. 

This may make some wonder why, despite all his contributions and consistency, the Wolves traded Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics. Although ‘team rebuilding’ is one answer to this, there was a lot that created the situation of rebuilding without KG.           

A closer look into circumstances that led to Kevin Garnett’s trade

Although The Kid was a key player for the franchise, he could never lead the team to a championship win. This was something that burdened even Garnett back then. So much so that he cried in an interview with John Thompson. He felt he was failing the team and the fans. 

However, looking back now, this was more on the franchise itself rather than Kevin Garnett. Notably, the Wolves management could never surround the 15-time All-Star with players who could efficiently back him up. One of the key reasons for the franchise failing to do so was the Joe Smith salary cap-evading scandal. The scandal involved franchise majority owner Glen Taylor and General Manager Kevin McHale. 

There were allegations that Smith was promised a multi-million dollar deal in the future for signing below-market-value deals. He followed this by signing three separate deals for below $3 million for three consecutive seasons. However, the scandal was later disclosed during a legal battle between Smith’s agent, Andrew Miller, and Eric Fleisher.

Subsequently, the then NBA commissioner, David Stern, penalized the Wolves with $3.5 million and also suspended the Wolves’ next 5 first-round draft picks. Although the 2003 pick was returned to the Wolves, the 4 suspensions were enough damage to the franchise. This deprived the Timberwolves of any chance of providing Kevin Garnett with a roster that had depth behind him.

As a result, the team never succeeded in its championship aspirations. So after a point, the Wolves had no option but to head towards a rebuild. Thus came the decision to trade Garnett to the Celtics. As per some media reports, KG never wanted the trade. This led to the development of friction between him and the franchise owner. 

Garnett’s beef with Wolves owner Glen Taylor      

According to some media reports, the roots of this feud go back to the time when the franchise got rid of Flip Saunders in 2005. This came during a disappointing season for the team. It is said that The Kid was not entirely happy with this move, as he held high regard for Saunders. 

However, the Wolves re-appointed Saunders as the head coach in 2014. And it was he who convinced the 2008 NBA champ to join Minnesota ahead of the 2015 trade deadline. As per the reports, the coach had promised KG a role within the organization. But after Saunders’ death, Taylor denied Garnett any front office role. 

 Since then, the beef has become even more concrete on Kevin Garnett’s end. So much so that he has refused to retire his jersey from the Timberwolves until Taylor is the majority owner. However, the former NBA star may have some hope as the other two franchise owners, Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, are fighting for the majority share.

As per an article by Boston.com, Kevin Garnett has backed Rodriguez and Lore in their conquest. “What they’ve been doing in Minnesota, the energy, and this team taking on [Anthony Edwards’s] and [Karl-Anthony Towns’s] personality bro, A-Rod and Marc built that [expletive], man… It took Glen Taylor 20 years, and he can’t figure it out…” he said, as per the article. Despite all of this, the former Timberwolves star still holds a high regard for his team and fans.  

What do you make of Garnett’s dynamics with Taylor? Let us know below.