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Minnesota Timberwolves: Grading The Offseason

By Gerald Bourguet

Jun 26, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; (Left to right) Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders, number one overall draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns, draft pick Tyus Jones, and general manager Milt Newton at Mayo Clinic Square. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; (Left to right) Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders, number one overall draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns, draft pick Tyus Jones, and general manager Milt Newton at Mayo Clinic Square. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Minnesota Timberwolves
Mar 7, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett (21) raises his arms to get the crowd pumped up in the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Target Center. The Timberwolves won 121-113. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

Keeping KG

As the highest paid player of the course of a career in NBA history (he was at $327 million before this offseason), Kevin Garnett was inked to a massively inflated two-year, $16 million extension that, theoretically, would have him playing past his 40th birthday.

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    • Though Flip Saunders has said Garnett will start, this deal is more about nostalgia and the future of the franchise than it is about what Zombie KG actually brings to the table at this point in his career.

    Last year, Garnett averaged a meager 6.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game, and he only played in 47 games on the season. The Wolves won’t be expecting him to play much more than 20 minutes a night, but $8 million a season is an AWFUL lot to dish out, even for the most iconic player in franchise history.

    However, I can’t criticize this deal too harshly, if only because it just feels right for Kevin Garnett to not only finish his career in Minnesota, but actively contribute to its future in some way. Though he’s a step slow now, he’s still a useful defender and even if his on-court value is at an all-time low, having him around as a mentor for Andrew Wiggins and especially Karl-Anthony Towns will be a huge asset until the time comes to hang up his jersey.

    On a team with so many young, budding frontcourt players — Towns, Gorgui Dieng (25), Nemanja Bjelica (27, but will be an NBA rookie this year) and Adreian Payne (24) — Garnett really shouldn’t be playing much, let alone starting…let alone starting for $8 million a season…let alone starting for $8 million a season for TWO GUARANTEED seasons.

    But heading into another lottery-bound campaign, a feel-good extension like this was necessary; KG wasn’t going anywhere else after returning home. The future of Wiggins and Towns is bright, but it’ll take some time to get there. In the meantime, this move will sell jerseys, put butts in the seats and provide a sterling example of professionalism for the young guys.

    KG really shouldn’t be earning more than the veteran minimum at this point, but since the Wolves were never going to be free agency players this summer anyway, they had to spend their money somewhere, right?

    Grade: B-

    Next: Chase-ing Savings

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