Kevin Garnett has taken shots at Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, describing him as a "snake" and revealing he still hasn't forgiven him for an acrimonious departure from the franchise at the end of 2016.
The 43-year-old was drafted by the Timberwolves with the fifth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft and spent 12 seasons with the franchise before being traded to the Boston Celtics in 2007. He returned to Minneapolis in February 2015 before retiring at the end of the following season after negotiating a buyout with Taylor.
When Garnett's second spell with the Timberwolves began, he spoke with then-team president Flip Saunders—who had coached him in his first decade in the NBA and who engineered the trade that brought him back to Minnesota—about the possibility of becoming a minority owner of the franchise. Saunders, however, suddenly died of lymphoma in October 2015 and Garnett feels Taylor reneged the agreement they had put in place.
"My years in Minnesota and in that community, I cherish," Garnett told The Athletic.
"At this point, I don't want any dealings with Glen Taylor or Taylor Corp. or anything that has to do with him. I love my Timberwolves, I'll always love my guys, I'll always love the people who f*** with me there. I'll always have a special place for the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota in my heart.
"But I don't do business with snakes. I don't do business with snake motherf***ers. I try not to do business with openly snakes or people who are snake-like."
In 2017, the South Carolina native told the Associated Press that promises were broken and he doubled down on the concept during his interview with The Athletic, insisting he was "not entertaining" the prospect of the franchise retiring his No. 21 jersey.
"Glen [Taylor] knows where I'm at. I'm not entertaining it," he explained. "First of all, it's not genuine. Two, he's getting pressure from a lot of fans and, I guess, the community there.
"Glen and I had an understanding before [former team president] Flip [Saunders] died, and when Flip died, that understanding went with Flip.
"For that, I won't forgive Glen. I won't forgive him for that. I thought he was a straight-up person, straight-up businessman, and when Flip died, everything went with him."
While he became a bona-fide NBA star in Minneapolis, winning the 2004 MVP award, the NBA title remained frustratingly elusive until The Big Ticket left the Timberwolves for the Celtics in 2007 and captured the Larry O'Brien trophy in his first season in Boston.
In 21 seasons in the NBA, Garnett was a 15-time All-Star selection and finished with a career average of 7.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
Over the weekend, along with the late Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, Garnett was selected to be inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in August.
"It [being inducted] is the culmination," he told ESPN after the announcement. "It's the culmination, man. You put countless hours into this. You dedicate yourself to a craft. You take no days off. [...] All those hours [...] this is what you do it for, right here. For me, to be called a Hall of Famer, is everything."
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Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he ... Read more
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