Kevin Garnett is apparently ready to hang up his jersey as he and the Minnesota Timberwolves are in advanced discussions on a contract settlement that is expected to end his second stint with the team.
Sources tell ESPN.com that Garnett, at age 40, will opt for retirement after 21 seasons in the NBA. But the strongest signals Wednesday night pointed to Garnett and his representatives securing a settlement with the Wolves that will lead to his departure from the organization with one season and $8 million left on his current contract.
Garnett was drafted by the Wolves straight out of high school in 1995 when that was still allowed. He was the face of the franchise for 12 seasons until the July 2007 trade to the Boston Celtics that teamed up him, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen as the big 3. They all won their first championship in the first season with the Celtics. Garnett and Pierce then moved to the Brooklyn Nets in June 2013, then Garnett returned to Minnesota in 2015, when then-Wolves coach, the late Flip Saunders convinced Garnett to waive his no-trade clause to clinch the storybook reunion, so Garnett could finish his career where he started. Garnett agreed to come back to the Wolves, sources say, in part because he hoped to join Saunders in eventually buying the franchise from Taylor, the longtime owner. But Garnett lost his strongest ally in the organization when Saunders died just before the start of last season, only three months after it was announced Saunders had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Garnett was plagued by knee trouble but was an influential mentor to the Wolves’ young players.
Garnett is a 15-time All-Star who won league MVP honors in 2004 before leading the Saunders-coached Wolves to the Western Conference finals that season in what stands as the most successful campaign in franchise history. He was the fifth overall pick in the 1995 draft. He has averaged 17.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.4 blocks for his career.
