Kevin Garnett to Rejoin Timberwolves in Business and Community Role; No. 21 Jersey Set for Retirement
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Kevin Garnett is headed back to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a wide-ranging post-playing capacity, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday. The Hall of Famer will work across the club’s business operations, community outreach, fan engagement and content creation efforts.
According to the report, the organization also plans to raise Garnett’s No. 21 to the Target Center rafters within the next one to two years.
Garnett, 49, began his NBA career with Minnesota in 1995 and spent 12 seasons with the franchise, earning 10 All-Star selections and the 2003-04 Most Valuable Player award. He returned for parts of the 2015-16 campaign before retiring.
Relations between Garnett and former majority owner Glen Taylor had been strained since a proposed front-office role collapsed after the 2015 death of then-team president and head coach Flip Saunders. Garnett publicly accused Taylor of backing out of an agreement and vowed in 2020 that he would “never forgive” the longtime owner.
The club’s ownership transfer cleared the way for reconciliation. An arbitrator recently upheld the sale of Taylor’s remaining stake to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, and the NBA Board of Governors approved the deal in June. Lore and Rodriguez have been vocal about wanting Garnett involved with the franchise and committed to retiring his jersey.
Specifics of Garnett’s new title have not been disclosed, and Charania’s report indicates the former star will not be part of basketball operations, a department led by president Tim Connelly.
Source: Hoops Rumors
