Kevin Garnett was recently selected for enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame, but he is “not entertaining” the idea of the Minnesota Timberwolves retiring his No. 21, saying he still hasn’t forgiven team owner Glen Taylor after an acrimonious split in 2016.
“Glen knows where I’m at. I’m not entertaining it. First of all, it’s not genuine. Two, he’s getting pressure from a lot of fans and, I guess, the community there,” Garnett told The Athletic. “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.”
Saunders brought Garnett back to Minnesota in a trade in 2015, and the two talked about KG eventually becoming a minority owner.
Then Saunders suddenly died of lymphoma, and the Wolves were forced to move on with new leadership. Garnett told The Associated Press in 2017 that he believes promises were broken. He retired in September 2016 after a tense buyout negotiation with Taylor.
“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.”
Garnett was among nine selected for the Hall of Fame on Saturday. He spent 14 of his 21 NBA seasons in Minnesota, including the first 12. He averaged 17.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game with the Timberwolves, Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
