First Kobe Bryant retired, then came Tim Duncan. Could Kevin Garnett be next?
According to former Minnesota Timberwolves interim head coach Sam Mitchell, yes, KG may in fact be the next to go before next seasons tips off. Here’s what Mitchell said on SiriusXM NBA Radio (h/t Zach Harper of CBS Sports for the transcription):
“Last time I talked to him, he hadn’t made up his mind. I just think the way last year ended with the owner at the very last minute — and people don’t understand, we all felt pretty good about us. Myself, Milt Newton, and the coaching staff, we all felt pretty good about us coming back. We felt like we did a good enough job to at least earn us a couple of years, a year or two, to keep that thing rolling. And I just think KG was just so hurt by the way things happened.
“For people to send you messages as if you were going to be back and your staff was going to be back and we had everything going in the right direction, and to get a phone call [from owner Glen Taylor] two hours before your last game basically saying, ‘I’ve changed my mind and I’m going in a different direction,’ it just kind of knocked us all for a loop. We’ve all recovered from it and moved on but if you know Kevin, Kevin is very sensitive and he’s very loyal. And there was a lot of people in that organization that was let go, and the way it was done just left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouth.
“To be honest with you, I don’t know how he’s going to deal with that. Kevin takes that stuff personally and it’s going to be interesting to see ultimately what he decides to do. It’s a shame that if he doesn’t come back and play, that his last year in Minnesota ended the way it did.”
It would be pretty Kevin Garnett-y to retire because of loyalty issues. There were no indications from the Timberwolves that Mitchell wouldn’t be back, and Newton’s job never seemed in jeopardy. The thorough cleansing following the hire of Tom Thibodeau, beyond just Mitchell and Newton, probably didn’t help his mindset, either.
Throw in the passing of Flip Saunders last year, and this isn’t the same organization with which Garnett envisioned ending his career. He isn’t on the roster to be an on-court contributor. He is there to mentor, to serve as a player-coach, for the youngings.
There is no telling if the new regime, headed by Thibs, wants to use him in that role. Publicly, they would have to welcome Garnett back with open arms. Behind the scenes, Thibodeau may be looking for the freshest start possible.
That all of this happened ostensibly without warning might be the key, as Mitchell alluded to. Kevin Garnett has always been fiercely loyal to Minnesota, dating back to his trade to Boston in 2007. If he feels that the franchise has somehow slighted him by slighting others, maybe the 40-year-old decides to call it a career. We’ll just have to wait and see.
