Minnesota Timberwolves: The pros and cons to Kevin Garnett as an owner
Cons of Garnett as an owner
The list of cons certainly has some caveats to it, as we know nothing about how prominent Garnett’s role in any potential new ownership group might be.
Indeed, there is a range of possibilities for each of these scenarios…
Potential involvement in personnel decisions
This concern is simultaneously the scariest as well as the one loaded with the most speculation, quite frankly.
We have absolutely no idea who Garnett’s co-owners would be, much less if he would have any say in basketball decisions. Glen Taylor, for instance, has mostly stayed out of player personnel decisions, save for his infamous sign-off on the illegal Joe Smith contract more than two decades ago and his insistence to sit across from Andrew Wiggins and look him in the eyes prior to inking him to a maximum contract extension.
Of course, both of those instances turned out badly. But, as Garnett would tell you, Taylor doesn’t know s*** about basketball.
Herein lies the potential problem. Garnett knows stuff about basketball. A lot of stuff. But while he could talk all day about defensive coverages and on-court strategy, how would things go if he had a say in personnel decisions? Garnett has never held a front office role, so while isn’t any hard evidence to suggest one way or the other, there are plenty of takes out there related to his alleged input when Kevin McHale was running the front office, and the takes are not positive.
Then again, perhaps Garnett simply wants to be in the room when decisions are made, interact with the players when he has the opportunity, and perhaps get involved on the business side. All of those things seem reasonable and would render this concern moot.
What if things go badly?
This a much longer-term concern. What if Garnett is part of a new ownership group, but what if things go off the rails?
What if the new owners fire Gersson Rosas, or force several sudden personnel changes? What if the Wolves somehow get worse on the court? What if the worst happens, and despite Garnett’s best efforts, he’s overruled by other owners and the team is relocated?
As things stand currently, Garnett is the most beloved figure in franchise history, and Taylor is the oft-hated villain. Fair or unfair, that’s where we are today. But that could change if things go haywire.
To be clear, much of the above is speculation based on how things could go. After all, we’re only roughly 24 hours into what could be a months-long process.
Stay tuned…