As the most famous player in Minnesota Timberwolves history, Kevin Garnett can’t help but pay attention to the drama that is unfolding between his former franchise and Jimmy Butler. But the 15-time All-Star is not picking sides, and he feels both Butler and the franchise share blame for the ugly turn things have taken.
In a lengthy interview with Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, Garnett shared some of his thoughts on the “s— storm” that erupted this week in Minnesota. He said the most alarming thing for him is the way everything went public, and K.G. admitted that there were times in practice when he acted the way Butler did on Wednesday.
“You don’t think that I went crazy sometimes? Man, I was a damn Tasmanian devil,” he told Krawczynski. “I would say s— at (Kevin) McHale. I would say s— at Flip (Saunders). But it was all to motivate all of us.”
Garnett added that he feels both Butler and the Timberwolves are a “little delusional,” noting that Butler is a great player who probably sees his worth as closer to that of Kevin Durant and LeBron James, which it clearly is not.
“I don’t know if he had the power to come out and force a trade like this,” Garnett said. “He can be disruptive, but I don’t know if he actually had the clout to come out and do that. I don’t know if Jimmy has enough juice to be that.”
Of course, Garnett knows plenty about having issues with the higher-ups in Minnesota. His relationship with Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is basically non-existent at this point, and Garnett explained why last year after he returned to the team and then retired.
Garnett said he believes Butler simply wants to put himself in a better situation and that he is not motivated by his ego, but we know there are more than a few people who would disagree with that. Whatever the case, K.G. is right that all of this being aired in public is a bad look for the T-Wolves.
