What if … Minnesota Timberwolves hadn’t alienated Kevin Garnett
By Ethan Becker
2018-19
During the 2018 offseason, Glen Taylor became impatient.
He was upset at the Minnesota Timberwolves winning 50-plus games only to be swept in the playoffs and as a warning shot to the rest of the front office, he fires Milt Newton, leaving the general manager role open (Note: The GM and president of basketball ops basically have the same job, so it’s not super important you have both.)
However, the move doesn’t sit too well with Kevin Garnett or Sam Mitchell, who were both taught the importance of loyalty in the league.
Taylor begins to demand that they trade Ricky Rubio and find a more scoring-minded guard and there are now rumors that Derrick Rose is unhappy with a role on the bench.
Faced with the choice of either having their jobs on the line or parting ways with a guy in Rubio that had given so much to the team, Garnett and Mitchell decide to re-sign, doing so in a joint press conference.
In a moment of panic, Taylor hires Tom Thibodeau to fill the coach and president of basketball operations role. He trades Rubio for the pick that becomes Josh Okogie, promotes Rose to the starting lineup and swings the Jimmy Butler trade just a year later.
The Timberwolves have another 50-win season, however, since Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins were already established leaders on this Minnesota team, they butt heads with Butler right away. Minnesota makes the playoffs as an eighth seed, but is swept by the Houston Rockets.