AP Source: Garnett Agrees To Return To Timberwolves
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) — One of the best players in the history of the Timberwolves franchise is coming back to Minnesota. Just before the end of the NBA trade deadline Thursday, the Timberwolves agreed to a move with the Brooklyn Nets to acquire Kevin Garnett.
The Timberwolves will reportedly send Thaddeus Young to the Nets for Garnett. Minnesota originally sent a first-round draft pick to Philadelphia to get Young in the offseason. That came in the series of moves Minnesota made to also trade Kevin Love to Cleveland to get Andrew Wiggins.
The Associated Press is reporting that Garnett has opted out of his no-trade clause and told the Timberwolves he has accepted the trade.
Garnett spent his first 12 years in Minnesota and was coached for much of that time by Flip Saunders, who made his own return to Minnesota before last season and is now the president of basketball operations and coaches the rebuilding team. Garnett was traded to Boston in 2007, won a championship and made two NBA Finals appearances with the Celtics.
He has spent the last two seasons languishing in a reduced role on the Nets, one of the league's biggest disappointments.
Garnett is in the final year of a contract that pays him $12 million this season and has a full no-trade clause, giving him all the leverage in this situation. He is notoriously resistant to change, especially in the middle of a season, and it remains unclear if he would uproot his family to come and play for the team that has the worst record (11-42) in the Western Conference.
But Garnett remains beloved in the Twin Cities, receiving thunderous standing ovations every time he returns to the Target Center. And the prospects of perhaps finishing his career wearing that familiar No. 21 on his back and playing in front of fans he always held close to his heart could appeal to him.
"Whatever he says, we're going to listen and do it," Wolves guard Ricky Rubio said. "He's going to have the voice in the locker room and we're going to learn a lot from him. I think it's great."
Garnett, 38, had expressed recent interest to get involved with potentially being an owner for the Timberwolves.
The pluses for the Wolves would include having one of the NBA's hardest workers in Garnett. He would set a tone for the promising young nucleus on this roster and it would perhaps pave a way for Garnett to join the ownership group when he retires. Moving Young would also free up some cap space for next season as he has a $10 million player option for next season that he is likely to exercise.
Saunders, who also owns a portion of the team, continues to sing Garnett's praises years after the pairing parted. Saunders often references Garnett's development from a straight-out-of-high-school lottery pick in 1995 into one of the most versatile and intense power forwards the league has ever seen when talking about the plan to bring along current youngsters Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad.
"When you think of the Timberwolves, you think of Kevin Garnett," Wiggins said. "That's the first thing that comes up."
ESPN first reported the talks.
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