Franchise icon Garnett to mentor young Wolves, foster winning culture

Published Feb. 19, 2015 11:35 p.m. ET

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MINNEAPOLIS — If it weren't for Kevin Garnett, Ricky Rubio might not have heard about the Minnesota Timberwolves until they started scouting him as a teenage professional player in Spain.

"He put the Minnesota Timberwolves all around the world," the Barcelona native said. "Even when I was in Europe, in Spain, I knew because KG was here."

Rookie Andrew Wiggins was four months old when the Wolves drafted Garnett fifth overall straight out of high school in 1995. He was 12 when a rebuilding Minnesota club parted ways with its only transcendent star to date. But the Big Ticket's highlights have always made Wiggins stop and pay attention, he said.

"When you think of 'Timberwolves,' you think of Kevin Garnett," Wiggins said. "That's the first name that comes up."

Coaches Flip Saunders, Sam Mitchell and Sidney Lowe witnessed it firsthand. Saunders was the Wolves' head man for parts of 10 of Garnett's 12 seasons in the Twin Cities. Mitchell was his teammate and mentor. Lowe served as an assistant for two separate stints while Garnett was here.

"I remember at the first practice, I turned to (then Wolves shooting guard) Doug West, we were walking off the court, and I said, 'One day, we're going to all say we played with Kevin Garnett,'" Mitchell told FOXSportsNorth.com earlier this season. "I remember that day, because you could just tell from the very first day. He just had a special talent about him.

"He just knew."

Now, the elder-statesman version of the man they used to call "Da Kid" can translate that otherworldly basketball savvy — and the ferocity that enkindles it — into direct influence within the franchise that made him, and that he made.

It's the No. 1 reason Saunders and current Minnesota general manager Milt Newton dealt Thaddeus Young for Garnett shortly before Thursday afternoon's trade deadline, almost two decades after Saunders and VP of basketball operations Kevin McHale caught each other's gaze while evaluating Garnett before the '95 draft and seeing a prep prodigy. Never mind that an NBA draftee hadn't skipped college in 20 years.

From Day 1, Garnett had that ultra-unique yet easily recognizable demeanor of a pit bull combined with the grace of a greyhound. It was honed during his single-mother childhood in the Deep South, blossomed once he began playing organized basketball at Mauldin (SC) High and Farragut Career Academy (Chicago), and detonated into a Hall of Fame-type career during 12 years in Minneapolis.

Now, as evidenced by his decision to waive the no-trade clause in his contract, he hopes to share it before his playing career ends.

"The biggest thing with KG is his presence in the locker room," Newton said, leading into a story about a game earlier this season. "In the coaches' locker room next to the players' locker room after a loss, we heard laughter. We turned to each other and we said, 'You know what? We just lost a game. It should hurt.' So we pulled some of the rookies in and we said, 'Hey, we just lost the game. It should hurt a little bit. Why is there laughter? That's not how pros do it.'

"I guarantee you we won't have that problem, and if we do have that problem, I or Flip won't have to be the one to make that comment or make that message to the players."

The cloud of talcum powder that blinded and choked reporters moments before tipoff. The ultra-intense practices and shootarounds — yes, shootarounds — where Saunders and his staff barely had to say a word, because Garnett was the lead man on horseplay patrol. The look in his eye after an uncanny sequence where he'd block or rebound a shot, instigate Minnesota's offense and find a way to finish at the rim or anywhere else on the floor, no matter how many defenders shadowed him.

Those are the esoteric foundations of a man who still tops the Wolves' charts in almost every major statistical category and ranks fifth all time in the NBA in minutes played, sixth in games played, eighth in rebounds, 14th in points and 18th in blocks. Of a man who's been to 15 All-Star Games and won the 2004 MVP award after leading Minnesota to the Western Conference finals. Of a man who's on the Land of 10,000 Lakes sports Mount Rushmore and used to make the Target Center quake.

A controversial trade to Boston, a world championship, a deportation to Brooklyn and a reunion deal later, he joins an organization that believes the pieces are in place for a similar run.

But whatever Garnett brings for however long he's here can provide Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Anthony Bennett, Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng and Adreian Payne extra amplification to jumpstart their careers, Saunders said.

"If you know KG, they're not going to have a choice," Saunders said. "It's kind of the way he is. Certain people have the ability. They're born leaders. They basically don't filter anything."

No cell phones in the dressing room before games or individual stat sheets afterward. No slacking, even during casual game-day workouts. Learn from your elders, like Garnett did from Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson as he came up the NBA ranks.

"That locker room's going to be turned upside down," veteran shooting guard Kevin Martin said. "He has the impact of what Kobe has on the Lakers, what Jordan had on the Bulls."

Said Wiggins, the same age — 19 — as Garnett when he entered the league: "I'm excited to just get the chance to really work with him, see how he plays, how he carries himself, how he carried himself when he was here back in the day."

The cumulonimbus of satiated nostalgia can drown out the reality that Garnett's 38 and, on the floor at least, a shell of his former self. In one-plus seasons with Brooklyn, he averaged 6.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 20.4 minutes per game.

He's been mulling retirement, even looking far enough into the future to express a desire to one day purchase the Wolves. Saunders said he and Garnett didn't have any conversations about his expiring contract. But a team source told FOXSportsNorth.com Thursday that Wolves brass is confident Garnett will sign a two-year deal after this season.

Young has a $9.7 million player option for next season, then becomes an unrestricted free agent. He goes back to the East Coast, where he spent his first seven NBA seasons in Philadelphia.

On Thurday, Young tweeted:

The move leaves Bennett and Payne to share power-forward reps with Garnett. And, Saunders said, benefit from his tutelage.

Young came to Minnesota by way of this past summer's Kevin Love trade, a deal in which Saunders tried to acquire Garnett, he revealed Thursday. But Nets general manager Billy King, who drafted Young to the 76ers back in 2007, wasn't ready to part ways with Garnett then.

Nor was Garnett necessarily willing to move back to the place where he still keeps a summer home, even up until close to the deadline. Newton began discussions with King about two weeks ago, but at 1:25 p.m. Thursday, it didn't look good, Saunders said. Yet with seven minutes left before the clock struck 2, Garnett decided it was time.

"Kevin doesn't like change," Saunders said. "That's how he's always been. But I think when he looks back, he doesn't think (of) moving from Brooklyn to here as a big change. I think he looks at it from moving back and being home."

Garnett will be here by Saturday to undergo a physical and speak with reporters. He won't make the Wolves' Monday trip to Houston but should be in uniform — No. 21, of course — for Wednesday's home game against Washington.

Consider the lamps lit for a possible ownership stake in the club once Garnett's playing days finally come to an end, too.

"He's our one true Hall of Fame player," Mitchell said months ago, almost prophetically. "He's it. He's our identity. He's the greatest player to ever put on a Timberwolves jersey. I understand the (2007) trade, him going to Boston, and I'm happy for him, because it would've been a tragedy for a guy that loved the game that much not to experience winning an NBA championship. But at some point when he's done playing in Brooklyn, it's time to come home. And in my mind, he'll always be a Timberwolf."

It will require some reconciliation. Garnett didn't want to leave, even after missing the playoffs for three straight years. He and Saunders have remained close, but it's common knowledge Garnett didn't depart on the greatest terms with Taylor.

But burnt bridges can be replaced.

"I'm very excited about Kevin coming back and renewing our relationship," Taylor told FOXSportsNorth.com. "Not only on our basketball team, but our own personal one. I really believe his coming back here makes us a better team, not only this year, but enhances our opportunity to reach our ultimate goal, and that's get into the playoffs and compete towards a championship."

Said Rubio: "I'm going to be there with my notebook and see whatever that he does. I remember him being with the Timberwolves and Boston Celtics winning a championship. Playing against him was something special. You could see that players were afraid of him. That means he was tough, but he was a winner."

And, to this day, a fan favorite. Perfect timing — or perhaps no coincidence — that Friday is the last day for season ticketholders to renew their packages and for anyone else to purchase a membership.

"Every time he comes into town, he fills up the arena," wing Chase Budinger said. "He always gets a standing ovation. You can truly tell that this city still loves him."

Brown sticking around: The Wolves didn't make any other trades Thursday, but they did sign guard Lorenzo Brown for the rest of the year.

The reserve point man, drafted by Minnesota in the second round last year but cut before training camp, had been here on a pair of 10-day contracts. The Wolves had to either waive him or ink him for the season's remainder.

Brown has appeared in five games (one start) with Minnesota, averaging 3.2 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game. He played a career-high 47:55 against Cleveland on Jan. 31, dishing out a career-high nine assists.

Follow Phil Ervin on Twitter

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