What if … Minnesota Timberwolves hadn’t alienated Kevin Garnett
By Ethan Becker
2019-20
The 2019 offseason brought a lot of turnover. Due in part to his insistence of keeping Jimmy Butler (who had angered the Wolves mainstays in Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins) and another playoff sweep after a 50-win season, Tom Thibodeau is fired. Butler then leaves and signs with Miami and it is reported the Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t even extend him an offer.
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In Thibs place, Glen Taylor promotes Ryan Saunders. Saunders tries pulling on his familial relations to convince Kevin Garnett to resume his duties as president of basketball operations, but with Taylor still at the helm he finds no luck. In his place, Taylor hires Gersson Rosas.
Due to the turmoil that took place (as well as no Wiggins backlash) Minnesota doesn’t try to go after D’Angelo Russell, so they don’t drop all of their free agents in an attempt to get him.
Because of the problems over the last few years, both on the court and off of it, the Timberwolves struggle this season and it is clear that there isn’t much hope of continued playoff success. (Yes, unlike the reality that we live in … even with an eight-game losing streak) Not only that, but things look bleak as the 2020 free agent pool isn’t too deep.
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While the angering of a franchise star isn’t always seen as a good thing, there’s a chance that Taylor jumping the gun when he did actually helped the team. While Minnesota would’ve seen short-term success, it would’ve delayed their struggles by a few years and there was a chance that it may even hurt them in the long run.