- [Narrator] Kevin Garnett is the greatest player
in the history of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
No one else comes close to the former MVP.
Garnett went on to win a title
with the Celtics who later retired his jersey.
He was an obvious choice for Hall of Fame enshrinement.
But even five years after Garnett stopped playing,
the team with which he spent most of his career
had not joined in honoring him
by raising his number 21 to the rafters.
Why not? Because of beef.
(dramatic music)
Being an NBA superstar has its benefits.
You get paid many millions of dollars,
fans cheer for you,
and the pre-game food spreads are exquisite.
But, it also tends to mean letting
some billionaire franchise owner get way, way richer
off your labor than you ever will.
Let's talk about this billionaire.
Glen Taylor was born and raised in Minnesota.
He stuck around to build his printing business
and become the state's richest individual.
He also served as a Republican State Senator
during the 1980s.
Taylor left public office in 1990,
but remains an active Republican donor,
contributing to campaigns like that
of former Iowa Congress goblin Steve King.
So yeah, very much the kind of guy
who owns a sports franchise.
In '94-'95 Taylor spent around $90 million
of that tasty paper money to purchase majority ownership
of his hometown NBA team, which was already in rough shape
after just five years of existence.
Taylor quickly assembled the important faces
of a new Timberwolves generation.
He hired executive Kevin McHale,
who in turn hired a fellow Golden Gopher, Flip Saunders,
as coach, then drafted a fellow Kevin, Garnett, in 1995.
Garnett represented a bit of novelty for his era.
A lottery pick straight out of high school.
He more than satisfied the hype.
Garnett could uncork volcanic dunks,
flick you to death from mid range
and defend just about anyone.
The Target Center crowd seemed to feed his howling,
prowling game, and that relationship to the fan base
extended off the court, where he was a generous
and engaged part of the Minneapolis community.
After two years of rapid development,
Garnett signed what was, at the time,
the largest contract in NBA history.
The 21-year-old extended his commitment to the Wolves
for $121 million over six years.
That was an unprecedented amount of money
for any NBA player, let alone a 21-year-old,
but it's not like Taylor did that
out of the goodness of his heart.
Garnett rejected Minnesota's initial extension offer
and forced Taylor's hand.
He knew a budding superstar could find
some other billionaire to pay him
the record-setting money he was worth.
And then NBA owners worked very hard
to lengthen rookie commitments and cap star salary
to prevent others from getting paid like K.G.
Anyway, Garnett remained a Timberwolf for 10 more years.
The organization failed him for almost that whole time.
Their owner was a big part of that.
Some franchisees only show up to write the checks.
Glen Taylor has never been that kind.
He was always present, in the arena, in negotiations,
in press conferences, and in the extremely dumb scandal
that kneecapped the team's ability
to build around Garnett.
The Wolves lost four first-round draft picks
during KG's prime.
That's because in 2000, Taylor and Kevin McHale
got caught trying to be slick,
tendering an illegal under-the-table contract
for free agent Joe Smith, who wasn't even particularly good.
As a penalty for what he called
"fraud of shocking magnitude"
Commissioner David Stern suspended Taylor and McHale
and stripped all those precious draft picks.
That hurt because the Wolves had used KG's big contract
as cover to let their initial base
of supporting talent dissolve.
Tom Gugliotta broke out in '97,
then signed with Phoenix in '98.
Stephon Marbury played his best years elsewhere,
and so did Chauncey Billups.
The Wolves pursuit of new co-stars hardly registered.
Wally Szczerbiak was Garnett's most consistent,
productive teammate in Minnesota.
He made one All-Star Team,
which is the same number of times
Garnett tried to kick his ass in practice.
Sam Cassell starred at point guard in 2004,
the only season the Wolves enjoyed any playoff success.
Then, Minnesota alienated Cassell
and lost him in a horrendous trade.
Garnett's substantial salary, his opinions,
and perhaps his passion did complicate Wolves business.
At times, KG's favorite teammates had leverage
over management simply because he liked them.
But Garnett liking someone only went so far.
Flip Saunders coached Garnett from the star's teenage years
until he was 28.
A rare long-term pairing that made the two extremely close.
But, in February, 2005, Taylor commanded McHale
to do something about the Wolves losing record,
which McHale took as initiative to fire his friend Flip
and make himself Head Coach.
While the move seemed to help in the short term,
Garnett's Wolves never made another post-season.
Garnett had every reason to want out,
but the 2007 trade that sent him to Boston
supposedly wasn't his idea.
Garnett was actually upset to see his name in rumors.
At the time Garnett's Wolves career ended,
you'd find scant evidence
that the star had any problem with Taylor or vice versa.
Even right after the breakup,
Taylor went out of his way to dispute rumors
that Garnett had forced a trade,
and the closest Garnett got to speaking ill
of his old employer was a vague comment about loyalty.
But with those years, that waste of Garnett's prime
as preamble, here comes the beef.
Barnett's first season with the Celtics
became a historic success.
Boston won 66 games and the 2008 Championship.
The '07/'08 Wolves won 22 games.
By March of '08, Taylor was grumpy enough
to chuck a few darts.
He suggested that Garnett tanked it
at the end of the '06/'07 season.
KG was unbelievably durable throughout his Wolves tenure,
but that tenure ended with five missed games
because of injury.
Most people assumed the Wolves shelved Garnett
to improve their lottery odds.
But no, Taylor went on record
insisting Garnett's teammates had wanted to keep playing
for wins and Garnett did not.
From Boston, Garnett brushed aside the comments.
Garnett's agent echoed the general response
to such claims.
Kevin Garnett is borderline sociopathic about winning.
The last person you'd expect to quit on his team.
Ridiculous accusation.
KG did not hold this against his old teammates
or their fan base.
He actually dedicated that Celtics championship
to Minnesota, but his love for the place and its people
did not extend to the organization.
During one return visit with the Celtics in 2012,
Garnett's usual warm words for the city
included a shot at the franchise
so casual, you could have missed it.
- I have nothing positive to say
so I'll just let it be that.
- [Narrator] When a Minnesota fan begged Garnett
to return, Garnett responded.
"No way."
Things changed though.
Motivated by some big recent sales,
Glen Taylor expressed interest in selling a minority stake
in the Timberwolves.
The expectation was that the new part owner
would eventually buy out Taylor's share.
And something else changed.
Flip Saunders had already returned to the Wolves
as Team President.
After trading Kevin Love for a new young core,
Saunders' became Head Coach as well.
In November, 2014, the 38-year-old Garnett
was playing out his twilight for the Brooklyn Nets,
but got asked about the shifting landscape in Minnesota.
Garnett said bluntly that he wanted to take Taylor's offer
and someday buy the team.
That would cost a lot more than it cost Taylor in '94.
In the meantime, Minnesota assembled a February, 2015 trade
for KG, who waived the no trade clause in his contract
to reunite with the coach who helped guide him
from teen star to MVP.
It was of course also a reunion with the franchise owner
who traded him in '07,
then singled him out with tanking accusations.
The guy who'd said paying KG's favorite teammates
drove him nuts.
Garnett spoke of forgiving and forgetting
when it came to Taylor.
Well, okay, maybe not forgetting,
but he wanted make the relationship work.
After all, his ultimate post-planning goal was to do
a huge business deal with the guy.
Saunders position as mediator was crucial
to repairing the bridge that would lead Garnett
to his fairy tale ending.
In fact, the grand plan was for Saunders to join KG
in buying stake in the franchise.
Encouraged by his coach, Garnett envisioned himself,
not only investing, but making decisions,
building the championship team
the franchise never built for him.
In the meantime, KG and Flip would ride it out
as player and coach.
Garnett signed a two-year extension in mid-2015.
It'd be like the old times,
except now The Kid was nearing 40.
But before 2015 training camp, tragedy struck.
In August, Saunders announced he had been diagnosed
with Hodgkins lymphoma.
His health deteriorated quickly,
and on October 25th, 2015, the husband, father of four,
and beloved icon of Minnesota basketball,
died at age 60.
Saunders' sudden illness and passing
broke hearts all around the state.
It devastated the Wolves organization.
The Wolves held a memorial for Saunders
before their home opener in November.
They put a tribute video on the Jumbotron
and played the rest of the season with Flip's name
on their chest.
And the timing of this tragedy had a ripple effect.
Saunders had been key to the Garnett, Taylor détente.
It was Flip who persuaded Garnett
to accept the trade back to Minnesota,
and it was Flip who engaged Garnett
about seeking an active ownership role.
After Saunders' passing, those notions seem to vanish.
Whatever understanding Garnett had with his coach
was lost on the owner.
At the end of that difficult '15/'16 season,
Glen Taylor wiped out the front office
and dismissed interim coach Sam Mitchell,
a friend and former teammate of Garnett's.
Garnett had spent the whole season excited
about running the Wolves someday,
and here came some job openings,
at least some opportunities for input.
But no, Taylor went ahead and filled those seats
on his own with outside hires.
GM Scott Laden and Coach/President Tom Thibodeau.
The outgoing coach, Mitchell, suggested his friend
would not appreciate this sudden swerve.
And indeed a couple months later,
Garnett requested the Wolves buy out
the last year on his contract.
Reports described the negotiation as tense.
Though, Garnett did collect his full salary for a season
he didn't play ball anywhere, actually.
KG announced his retirement days after the buyout,
in the form of a Minnesota-centric Instagram post
that told fans to stay tuned.
But, Garnett spent his first season away from the court
on TV, not in the Minnesota front office.
His beef with Taylor began to reheat.
In an interview with Jon Krawczynski,
whose reporting on this topic is second-to-none,
Garnett criticized Taylor's organization
for the way they memorialized Saunders.
KG had chosen not to participate in that 2015 tribute video,
explaining that he couldn't stuff a lifetime of friendship
into his allotted three minutes.
Garnett was upset the Wolves didn't raise a banner
to commemorate Saunders, and felt like
the memorial was shoved down the throats of younger players
who barely remembered Flip.
Minnesota did eventually hang a banner, for what it's worth.
On that note, Taylor was talking
around the same time about raising Garnett's jersey
to the Target Center rafters.
KG said he hadn't heard from the team
about retiring his number.
And while promoting his TV show,
Garnett continued to entertain questions about the Wolves.
He believed the Wolves changed course after Saunders' death.
He called that outcome "a huge disappointment"
that showed him the real Glen Taylor.
Garnett reminded everyone that while he was playing
out his record-setting contract,
Taylor's franchise value increased
by way, way more than that.
It multiplied.
The superstar who generated so much of that value
wanted it back.
He wanted control.
He wanted to cut straight to buying out Taylor.
Forget that old plan of minority ownership.
Meanwhile, Garnett's remaining connections
within the team tried to restore relations.
Karl-Anthony Towns helped coax Garnett
back to the Target Center for a game in 2018,
the night they honored the late Prince.
The team Equipment Manager made Garnett a special jersey,
but on that note, KG didn't sound enthusiastic
about retiring his number 21.
And he still went out of his way
to roast Taylor and company.
He told Michael Pina Minnesota's front office suck.
And when Wolves star Jimmy Butler demanded a trade,
Garnett broadcast sympathy for the guy who had to deal
with his old boss.
- He's dealing with Glen,
who doesn't know shit about basketball.
- [Narrator] Garnett made the media rounds again in 2020,
when his name came up for Hall of Fame induction
and a jersey retirement in Boston.
Taylor issued public congratulations and sort of hinted
at the glaring exception among those honors.
Still no official tribute in the building
Garnett played most of his career.
Shams Charania prodded Garnett about jersey retirement
and Garnett unloaded.
He said Taylor's motivations weren't genuine.
He said Taylor went back on an understanding
they had before Saunders died.
And for all that, he called Taylor a snake.
He'd never do business with his company.
Snake, snake, snake.
But then, Taylor told people he intended
to sell the Wolves outright
for well over a billion dollars.
Garnett's tone changed.
He said he'd put together a bidding group
and praised Taylor while doing so.
But it sounds like Taylor preferred others.
Despite limiting himself to buyers
who'd keep the team in Minnesota,
Taylor entered 2021 courting plenty of offers.
Experienced NBA governors, local sports fixtures,
and even former players, but not Garnett.
Kevin Garnett's number should be retired in Minnesota,
and it probably will be someday,
maybe by the time you watch this video,
but that will probably require new Timberwolves ownership.
If not Garnett himself, then at least someone
other than Glen Taylor.
Because all the money these two men made each other
rests on a bed of beef.
And the one man capable of bringing these two together
is gone far too soon.
Rest in peace Flip Saunders.
(gentle music)
(logo chiming)