Minnesota Timberwolves: The pros and cons to Kevin Garnett as an owner
Pros of Garnett as an owner
There are a ton of potential positives that would stem from Kevin Garnett as a potential owner.
Face of the franchise
Currently, Karl-Anthony Towns is the face of the franchise. Which is great, and he would certainly continue to be the on-court face, but … fairly or not, Towns has a reputation as a good-stats, bad-team guy. He has plenty of detractors league-wide. He’s only made the playoffs once, and Jimmy Butler gets plenty of credit for that appearance.
Okay, so that’s all a bit harsh for a 24-year-old, two-time All-Star who is already nearly the undisputed best-shooting center of all-time.
But it’s all true. Garnett is now officially a Hall-of-Famer, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t consider him to be one of the top 20 to 25 best players in league history. He’s an NBA champion, former MVP, and now, a movie star.
Having Garnett’s clout front-and-center for this woebegone franchise would matter in a big way.
A jolt for the fanbase
The Minnesota Timberwolves have plenty of die-hard fans. But they’ve all been through it, and the painful attendance numbers tell the story as the Wolves finished the 2019-20 campaign No. 29 in average fans per game.
Garnett is by far the best player in franchise history, and for all the reasons noted above, the fans need this jolt of optimism. Even just having him in the building changes things.
Remember, less than two years ago, Garnett’s courtside presence in a Prince jersey was legitimately newsworthy. And who could forget his return as a player in 2015?
Garnett is everything to Wolves fans, and the Twin Cities could use this lift.
Relationship with and development of Towns
When Flip Saunders brought Kevin Garnett back in 2015, it was just prior to landing Karl-Anthony Towns with the first-overall pick in that June’s draft. Saunders tragically passed away that fall, but Garnett remained on the roster for the entirety of Towns’ rookie year and played a huge role in mentoring him that season.
But the relationship has continued. Both Garnett and Towns have gone out of their way to praise each other. Towns spoke about Garnett in an interview with Uproxx last year and Garnett went on Scoop B’s podcast and called Towns “the future”.
Having Garnett keep an office in Target Center and, at the very least, be around the practice courts every now and again would be huge from a relationship standpoint.
Now, for some potential cons…