Kevin Garnett announces end of Timberwolves ownership bid with shot at owner Glen Taylor
Kevin Garnett will not be the next owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The basketball Hall of Famer and Timberwolves icon announced on Instagram Thursday that his bid to purchase the franchise as part of an ownership group is over. He also delivered a message to team owner Glen Taylor, with whom he's carried a feud since his 2016 departure from the team.
"Sooo, just got the news that this process in trying to acquire the TWOLVES IS OVER for me n my group," Garnett wrote. "Thx Glen for being yourself n what I Kno you to be!!
"Good Luck n aww the best with WHAT WE BUILT."
'Can never own them, only rent them'
Garnett then lamented the lack of access to ownership of a franchise he helped build.
"Crazy that some of these special players that helped build these f**in Franchises like a home but can never own them, only rent them," Garnett continued. 'GTFOH ISHHH IS A JOKE... F** em doe.. your loss."
While a "disappointed" Garnett appears ready to move on to what's next, the ownership fate of the Timberwolves remains unclear. Taylor reportedly began to explore a sale last July. Garnett announced his interest in buying the team shortly thereafter. Minnesota Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf and Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam have also reportedly shown interest.
For now, what is known is that Garnett's feud with Taylor carries on.
'I don't do business with snakes'
When discussing the notion of having his Timberwolves jersey retired last April, Garnett said that he's "not entertaining it" while sharing a pointed assessment of Taylor's character with The Athletic's Shams Charania.
“I’ll always have a special place for the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota in my heart,” Garnett said. “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.”
Why is Garnett mad at Taylor?
Garnett accuses Taylor of failing to honor a deal they struck along with former general manager and head coach Flip Saunders. Garnett says that when he waived a no-trade clause to return to the Timberwolves from the Brooklyn Nets in 2015, it came with an understanding that he would join team ownership and play a front-office role after he retired.
He says Taylor backed out of that arrangement when Saunders died of Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2015. Garnett retired in 2016 after playing his final NBA season in Minnesota.
“Glen and I had an understanding before Flip died, and when Flip died, that understanding went with Flip,” Garnett said. “For that, I won’t forgive Glen. I won’t forgive him for that. I thought he was a straight-up person, straight-up business man, and when Flip died, everything went with him.”
The prospect of ridding the franchise of Taylor and taking ownership himself was an exciting one for Garnett. Now, it appears that he'll have to settle strictly for Taylor's pending exit. When and if Taylor does sell the team, perhaps Garnett will seek to mend fences with the franchise he otherwise loves.
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