Former NBA head coach Sam Mitchell has an interesting take on Kevin Garnett and his pending retirement decision.
Mitchell, who served as interim head coach of the Timberwolves last season, believes owner Glen Taylor’s decision to fire him may ultimately sway Kevin Garnett to enter retirement. Speaking on SiriusXM Radio (as transcribed by Zach Harper of CBS Sports), Mitchell voiced his opinion on what could be next for the veteran Garnett:
“Last time I talked to him, he hadn’t made up his mind. I just think the way last year ended with the owner at the very last minute — and people don’t understand, we all felt pretty good about us. Myself, Milt Newton, and the coaching staff, we all felt pretty good about us coming back. We felt like we did a good enough job to at least earn us a couple of years, a year or two, to keep that thing rolling. And I just think KG was just so hurt by the way things happened.
“For people to send you messages as if you were going to be back and your staff was going to be back and we had everything going in the right direction, and to get a phone call [from owner Glen Taylor] two hours before your last game basically saying, ‘I’ve changed my mind and I’m going in a different direction,’ it just kind of knocked us all for a loop. We’ve all recovered from it and moved on but if you know Kevin, Kevin is very sensitive and he’s very loyal. And there was a lot of people in that organization that was let go, and the way it was done just left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouth.
“To be honest with you, I don’t know how he’s going to deal with that. Kevin takes that stuff personally and it’s going to be interesting to see ultimately what he decides to do. It’s a shame that if he doesn’t come back and play, that his last year in Minnesota ended the way it did.”
Kevin Garnett has stayed patient in deciding on his playing future this summer, but as time continues to move forward, the level of anticipation for those awaiting his final decision continues to grow.
Should Garnett decide to return, he’d be entering his 22nd straight season in the league. Should he retire, he’d be joining elite company in Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Amar’e Stoudemire as players who recently decided to hang em’ up for good.
For Sam Mitchell, his strong opinion has to worry Garnett’s supporters who hope to see him hit the hardwood again. Having played for just three franchises in his career (and being traded to the other two not named Minnesota), it’s no secret that Garnett is one of the most loyal players we’ve ever seen in this league. Perhaps Garnett will retire, but whether he will as a direct result of Minnesota firing its interim head coach has yet to be seen.
