Kevin Garnett wants to buy the Timberwolves from Glen Taylor

If the assumption was that Kevin Garnett would buy a stake in the Timberwolves from current majority owner Glen Taylor, he emphatically changed that narrative with these comments.

December 14, 2017 at 6:07PM
Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx owner Glen Taylor spoke with Kevin Garnett during game 3 between the Lynx and Sparks.
Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx owner Glen Taylor spoke with Kevin Garnett during game 3 between the Lynx and Sparks. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

In a wide-ranging recent interview with Awful Announcing that focused mainly on his work at TNT, former Wolves star Kevin Garnett was also asked about his future business plans.

"I don't want to be partners with Glen [Taylor], and I wouldn't want to be partners with Glen in Minnesota. I would love to be part of a group that buys him out and kind of removes him and go forward."

If the assumption before was that Garnett would buy a stake in the team under the current ownership group, he pretty emphatically changed that narrative.

Garnett's relationship with Taylor appeared to sour during his second stint with the Wolves. He reportedly didn't like how the organization handled the death of Flip Saunders, and then Garnett's influence waned after Tom Thibodeau took over as head coach.

"It was a huge disappointment and one that showed me the true Glen Taylor," Garnett told USA Today in April. "It showed me how he really feels. When this guy got the team, it was worth $90 million. When I left it, it was worth somewhere in the $400 (millions). That was never taken into account in my value or none of that."

Taylor — who also owns the Star Tribune — told our Sid Hartman in August that he has about a 70 percent stake in the Timberwolves and at that time had no intention of selling.

That said, in that same interview Taylor — while again saying the team isn't for sale — did acknowledge that increasing franchise values have been a boon for the league.

"If I put it up for sale, we'll find out," he said, when asked if the Wolves are worth $1 billion. "I like the figure. But I'm not putting it up for sale, so I don't know."

Forbes valued the Wolves at $775 million in February 2017, but that was before Target Center renovations were completed.

Garnett, as he noted, would need to put a group together to make any deal work. That said, he also has made the most money of any NBA player in history — $334.3 million, according to Business Insider — and figures to have plenty of assets now that he's retired.

about the writer

about the writer

Michael Rand

Columnist / Reporter

Michael Rand is the Minnesota Star Tribune's Digital Sports Senior Writer and host/creator of the Daily Delivery podcast. In 25 years covering Minnesota sports at the Minnesota Star Tribune, he has seen just about everything (except, of course, a Vikings Super Bowl).

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