Report: Kevin Garnett may join Minnesota Timberwolves once new ownership takes over

Former Minnesota Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett reportedly might join the franchise once owner Glen Taylor sells the team.

“Garnett’s guidance is brought up often by [Karl-Anthony] Towns,” Brian Windhorst wrote. “And with the Wolves on the verge of finally being sold by longtime owner Glen Taylor to Marc Lore and partners including Alex Rodriguez, that influence might be drawing closer.

“Assuming the transaction is finalized, there is a chance Garnett will take a role with the organization, sources told ESPN. He has been in a bitter dispute with Taylor and distant from the franchise in recent years.”

Garnett is arguably the best player in the history of the Timberwolves franchise. He spent 14 of his 21 seasons in the NBA in Minnesota, and during that time, he earned 10 All-Star nods.

Arguably his best season with the Timberwolves came during the 2003-04 season, when he won the league’s MVP award. Garnett put up gaudy numbers on both ends of the floor in the regular season, as he averaged 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 49.9 percent from the floor across 82 games with Minnesota.

The big man also earned a spot on the All-Defensive First Team for his contributions that season.

Before wrapping up his NBA career with the Timberwolves, Garnett spent time playing with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. He helped lead the Celtics to the 2008 NBA title, as Boston beat the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in the championship series. Garnett and the Celtics reached the NBA Finals two years later in 2010, but they fell to the Lakers in seven games.

In his final NBA season, the 2015-16 season, he averaged 3.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game on 47.0 percent shooting from the field across 38 games played with the Timberwolves during the regular season.

When factoring in all that Garnett accomplished during his playing career with the Timberwolves, fans of the team should be rooting for him to join the franchise. Perhaps his championship experience could prove valuable for a Timberwolves team that projects to contend for an NBA title this season. Minnesota is tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record of any team in the Western Conference right now at 32-14.

The Timberwolves will take on the Thunder on the road on Monday in a battle between two of the top teams in the NBA. Minnesota lost a road game to the San Antonio Spurs by one point on Jan. 27.