Kevin Garnett Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Garnett, Cousins, Sabonis

November 19th, 2016 at 10:48pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Clippers coach Doc Rivers knew Kevin Garnett was going to leave the game quietly, as Jerry Zgoda of The StarTribune writes. “[Garnett and Tim Duncan are] complete opposites and yet they’re very much the same in some ways,” said Rivers, the coach of the Clippers. “In that way, you knew Kevin was going to leave quietly, which you don’t say about Kevin very often. You knew Tim would the same thing, and they both did. They both literally left the game and said goodbye and you didn’t see them again.” Rivers, who coached Garnett for six seasons in Boston, added that the future Hall of Famer misses the camaraderie in the locker room, but does not miss everything about the game. “I don’t think he misses the work anymore, and he put in as much work as any player I’ve ever seen,” Rivers added.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

DeMarcus Cousins doesn’t think the Kings are playing with enough urgency, James Ham of Comcast Sportsnet writes. “Once again, we’re just waiting until the last minute to play with energy, play with a sense of urgency, play with some pride, play with some heart,” Cousins lamented. “I mean, it’s all fun, it’s exciting in the end – you feel like we’re playing good and making the right steps, but these games are only going to continue to get harder for us if we wait until the last quarter or I guess you could say second half to try to make a push. We’ve got to start having complete games.”
Coach Dave Joerger understands the center’s frustration and said that changes are coming for the Kings, Ham passes along in the same piece. “I’ve seen enough, I’m going to play small” Joerger said. “DeMarcus is going to play center. I don’t know who else is going to play with him, but it gives us more zip, more life, more experience.”
The Thunder are heavily wagering on Domantas Sabonis becoming part of the team’s core, Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer writes. Sabonis has started at power forward this season and while he’s impressed at times offensively, he has struggled overall. Tjarks argues that the Thunder can’t wait too long for Sabonis to improve his play since they have a superstar in his prime and they needs to give him the best chance at winning right now.

Kevin Garnett Discusses Consultant Role With Cavs, Bucks

October 28th, 2016 at 8:54am CST by Luke Adams

TNT’s Inside the NBA crew welcomed Kevin Garnett to the network last night, as the future Hall-of-Famer (Twitter link) joined Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal on the studio show. While Garnett has a new gig as a special contributor for TNT, he continues to explore other opportunities as well, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that KG is talking with multiple teams – including the Cavaliers and Bucks – about a “coaching consultant” role.

Following Garnett’s retirement announcement earlier this year, we heard that the longtime NBA big man was drawing interest from teams like the Cavs and Clippers for a potential coaching job. However, it sounds like any team that hires Garnett this year wouldn’t expect him to take on a full-time role, given his commitment to TNT.

As Wojnarowski details, it’s even possible that Garnett could be hired by more than one NBA team. In that scenario, KG would make “periodic stops” into various NBA cities to work with certain players, league sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Garnett, who turned 40 in May, had been under contract with the Timberwolves as a player for this season, but made the decision in September to call it a career. Minnesota waived him at that point, leaving his $8MM cap hit on the team’s books, but freeing him up to explore new opportunities.

During training camps, Garnett was spotted spending some time with the Clippers and old friend Doc Rivers. Though KG didn’t join the team in an official capacity, Rivers suggested at the time that he certainly had room for the former Celtic on his staff. “I’m going to offer him something,” Rivers said. “I don’t want to say too much right now. I just know he’d be a great asset to any team.”

Community Shootaround: Duncan, KG, And Kobe

October 7th, 2016 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Kobe Bryant‘s final season was one of the NBA’s top stories throughout the 2015/16 season, capped with a 60-point performance in the Lakers’ regular-season finale against the Jazz. However, Bryant wasn’t the only longtime NBA star who called it a career in 2016. Tim Duncan announced his retirement in the summer, and Kevin Garnett did the same this fall.

Bryant, Duncan, and Garnett are three of the most accomplished players of the last two decades, having combined for four MVP awards, 11 NBA titles, and an incredible 48 All-Star appearances. While they were hardly at their best in 2015/16, their career résumés prior to last season were strong enough to ensure they’ll become Hall-of-Famers as soon as they become eligible.

In a community roundtable, the basketball writers at SI.com look at the three retired stars and attempt to determine which one they’ll miss the most. The trio had very different styles of play, with Garnett defined by his intensity on the court, while Duncan was more of a steady, calm presence in San Antonio. As for Kobe, his production was more unpredictable than that of the two forwards, but he also had the ability to put up 50 points on any given night.

As we enter the first NBA season since 1994/95 in which none of these three players will take the court, which one will you miss the most? Bryant, Duncan, or Garnett? Take to the comments section below to weigh in and share your thoughts on the three retiring stars.

Pacific Notes: Chandler, Clarkson, Garnett

September 30th, 2016 at 9:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Veteran center Tyson Chandler isn’t upset that the Suns selected two big men (Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss) in the first round of this year’s NBA Draft, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “I thought it was good for the future to be quite honest,” Chandler said. “I thought that was where we lacked last year – at power forward. We’ve already got young guards with all the shooting in the world so we needed to build on that side of the ball. That’s what I came here for. That’s my job, to help hand the leadership off. It’s even that much more important for me to teach them how things are supposed to be done. I want to be part of this franchise getting back to the glory days. I feel like I’m definitely going to tap into it. I feel like we’ll be better than people expect. Just the competition. If we play like we’ve been playing out here, that’s good enough for me.”

Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

The Lakers want to push Jordan Clarkson, who inked a four-year, $50MM deal this summer, to become a better defender, Mark Medina of The Orange County Register writes. The guard has embraced the challenge that new coach Luke Walton has given him for the season, Medina adds. “I was just terrible on that end, taking wrong angles, wasn’t there on tags and wasn’t there on late closeouts,” Clarkson said of his 2015/16 performance. “It got to the point where it was bad. We were a bad defensive team as a whole last year. But I take it upon myself really to improve on that.”
Kevin Garnett attending the Clippers‘ practice on Thursday and he worked with a number of the team’s big men, Jovan Buha of ESPN.com relays. “KG was phenomenal today,” coach Doc Rivers said of Garnett’s appearance. “This morning, before practice, he had a teaching clinic that you would pay a lot of money to see. It was great. It was great for Blake Griffin and [DeAndre Jordan] and the young guys as well. It’s great to have him around. He’s a great teacher. We know him as a great player. I knew him as a great teacher. He’ll be really good for us.” Garnett reportedly has been offered a coaching position with Los Angeles, as well as with the Cavs.
Despite the presence of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors want Kevin Durant to feel comfortable and to not pass up open shots, Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com writes. “That’s why they wanted me here! They want me to come out here and be myself. I’m not going to play timid or not step on anyone’s toes, but I’m still going to be myself,” Durant said. “Nobody’s telling me I’m shooting too much. They want me to be myself out there.“

Cavaliers, Clippers Interested In Garnett As Coach

September 29th, 2016 at 3:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

A week after announcing his retirement, Kevin Garnett already has a job offer, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue confirmed today that he has asked Garnett to be part of his coaching staff in Cleveland. “I talked to him about it,” Lue said after practice. “I know his wife is pushing for it a lot. Brandi is pushing for it, trying to get him to come and coach. He says he’s not ready yet. He goes back — ‘I might do it’ — but he’s back and forth. We’ll see. But I’d definitely make a spot for him if he wanted to come back and coach.”

Lue, who called Garnett one of his best friends, was an assistant in Boston when Garnett played there. The Cavaliers coach said he wanted to see Garnett play another season in Minnesota, but would like to team up with him now that the retirement decision has been made.

Cleveland’s coaching staff is already filled, with Larry Drew being promoted to associate head coach this week and Jim Boylan, Mike Longabardi, James Posey and Damon Jones re-signing as assistants. Any coaching job Garnett might take would have to be in an unofficial capacity.

And the Cavaliers may not be his only choice, as the Clippers tweeted a photo this afternoon of Garnett joining them for practice. L.A. coach Doc Rivers, who also has close ties with Garnett from their days with the Celtics, said he would have been glad to have Garnett as a player this season and may be interested in adding him in a coaching capacity. “I’m going to offer him something,” Rivers said. “I don’t want to say too much right now. I just know he’d be a great asset to any team.”

Northwest Notes: Exum, Oladipo, Wolters, Garnett

September 25th, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jazz point guard Dante Exum proclaims himself fully healed from the ACL injury that wiped out last season, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Exum suffered the injury in August of 2015 while playing for the Australian national team and says the mental anguish was worse than the physical pain. “There were plenty of times where I wondered, why me,” Exum told The Tribune. “I wondered if I would be the guy I was before the injury. I was supposed to go home to Australia the next day, and I hadn’t been home in a year. I wondered, what’s going to happen with the Jazz? That was the pain I was going through.” With Utah’s training camp opening this week, Exum says his knee feels stronger than ever and his speed, leaping ability and explosive first step have all returned. Exum, who started 41 games during his rookie season, will ease back into the NBA in a reserve role after the Jazz made an offseason deal for George Hill.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

For several years, the Thunder have tried to surround their stars with “3-and-D” players, but Victor Oladipo tells Erik Horne of The Oklahoman that he wants to be more than that. Oladipo, who came to Oklahoma City in a draft-day trade involving Serge Ibaka, is expected to start alongside MVP candidate Russell Westbrook in the OKC backcourt, but he doesn’t see himself as just a complementary player. “I don’t just want to be a three-point shooter. I don’t just want to be a defensive stopper,” Oladipo said. “I want to be one of the best players in this league, and in order to do that, you have to affect the game on both ends and do multiple things.”
Coming off an impressive season in Turkey, Nate Wolters is hoping to work his way back into the NBA with the Nuggets, relays Jake Rauchbach of Basketball Insiders. The 38th pick in the 2013 draft, Wolters spent two seasons with the Bucks and Pelicans before heading overseas last year. He is projected as the fourth point guard on Denver’s roster, but is hoping to make an impression at training camp. “When you’re trying to make a team, there is kind of a fine line between trying to do too much and proving yourself,” Wolters said. “But still, at the same time, you want to be aggressive so they notice you a little bit. [I’ll] just try to run the team and then kind of pick my spots when I feel like I can be aggressive and try to make plays.”
Timberwolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau has issued a statement honoring Kevin Garnett upon his retirement, relays The Star-Tribune. “Kevin will always be remembered for the way in which he played the game,” Thibodeau said. “His fierce competitiveness, his unequaled passion for the game and the many ways in which he cared about this team was truly special. KG is without question the all-time best player to wear a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey, and he is also one of the best ever to play this game.’’

Kevin Garnett Announces Retirement

September 24th, 2016 at 4:14pm CST by Luke Adams

SATURDAY, 4:14pm: The Wolves have waived Garnett, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.

4:50pm: Garnett will indeed be retiring from the game, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The veteran posted a video to his personal Instagram account announcing his intentions.

3:46pm: The Wolves are going to waive Garnett in a move similar to what the Spurs did with Tim Duncan this summer, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press reports (via Twitter). This will allow Garnett to collect his full salary he was due for 2016/17.

FRIDAY, 2:53pm: Kevin Garnett and the Timberwolves have reached an agreement on a buyout, according to Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune, who reports that the future Hall-of-Famer won’t play out the second and final year of his contract with the team. A league source tells Youngblood that Garnett is expected to officially make a retirement announcement soon.

A Wednesday report first suggested that the Wolves and Garnett were nearing an agreement on a buyout that would remove him from the roster. The 40-year-old had been under contract through the 2016/17 season and was owed an $8MM salary this year, but there has been uncertainty for the last several months about whether or not he’d want to continue his career.

Having spent 12 seasons in Minnesota earlier in his long career, Garnett returned to the Wolves at the 2015 trade deadline, agreeing to waive his no-trade clause in order to reunite with Flip Saunders, who was the club’s head coach at the time. KG signed a two-year deal with Minnesota that offseason, but lost his strongest ally within the organization before the start of the 2015/16 campaign, when Saunders passed away.

If this is indeed the end of Garnett’s Hall-of-Fame career, his final averages will be 17.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.3 steals through 1462 regular season contests. His shooting line will stand at .497/.275/.789.

Clippers Were Interested In Signing Garnett

September 24th, 2016 at 8:30am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Clippers were interested in signing Kevin Garnett prior to him announcing his retirement from the game after 21 seasons, L.A. coach/executive Doc Rivers told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullen. KG and the Wolves have reportedly agreed to a buyout arrangement that will allow the future Hall-of-Famer to retire while still collecting most of the $8MM salary he was due to earn in 2016/17.

Rivers, who previously had declared Garnett his favorite player to coach, told MacMullen that he spoke with the player about his intentions. “He doesn’t want to play,” Rivers said. “I’m sure he won’t play again. I think he realized, ‘Why am I doing this?’ I would have absolutely been interested in bringing him here. You always find a place for a guy like that, whose voice in the locker room is so strong, so clear, so impactful.

He’s such a great teacher in practice. He should start a course in leadership. The NBA should designate who the best player is on each team and then they could bring Kevin in and he could teach them how to be the best player and the best leader. Better yet, they could bring him and Tim Duncan in and they could teach it together and show people how it can be done in two completely opposite ways.”

Minnesota’s firing of interim coach Sam Mitchell and GM Milt Newton at the completion of the 2015/16 campaign played a major part in Garnett’s decision to walk away from the game, MacMullen relays. Garnett was visibly upset when he received the news of the duo’s ouster and his strained relationship with Wolves owner Glen Taylor further deteriorated as a result, league sources told MacMullen.

Taylor acknowledged this week that he hadn’t spoken with Garnett for months and Rivers noted that Garnett’s departure from Minnesota was not what he had envisioned, and his ownership opportunity has all but vanished, MacMullen writes. “It wasn’t a great ending,” Rivers said. “I’m not going to say too much about it, but once Flip passed away it threw a wrench into everything.”

Rivers did add that Garnett feels “really great” and that he was working out as recently as a couple of weeks ago, the scribe relays. His knee issues, Rivers believes, could be handled with the proper regimen of rest and treatment. “The sad thing is he could play another year if he wanted to,” Rivers told MacMullen. “Maybe that’s why he’s retired but not retired. He loves the young guys on that Minnesota team. They’re great listeners and he loved working with them. It’s too bad it’s ending like this for him.”

Garnett does intend to stay in the game in some capacity, Rivers confirmed to MacMullen, and said he’s already thinking up ways to add him to the organization. Garnett does own a home in nearby Malibu, California. “I’m going to offer him something,” Rivers said. “I don’t want to say too much right now. I just know he’d be a great asset to any team.”

Wolves, Kevin Garnett Nearing Buyout Deal

September 21st, 2016 at 8:06pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Wolves and Kevin Garnett are in advanced discussions on a buyout agreement, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The team believes Garnett will opt to retire, Stein adds in a full-length piece.

President of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau said earlier today that Garnett and owner Glen Taylor would have discussions about the future Hall-of-Famer’s status. Taylor previously insinuated that if Garnett decided to hang up his jersey, the team would make a good portion of his contract available to him via buyout, so the big man wouldn’t have to return for the money.

It was reported that Garnett had concerns about whether his body could endure the 82-game schedule. However, he still had the desire to play.

“Yes, theoretically, he’d like to play. But he has some doubts of his knees holding up,” Taylor said at the time. “I think he’s worried if he can play. I worry about that too. When I talked to him last year, I said, ‘Is it your knees or what?’ He said, ‘It’s my whole leg.’ ”

There may also be other factors in play. Garnett apparently wasn’t pleased with the way Sam Mitchell was fired, Justin Termine of SiriusXMNBA adds (Twitter link). Mitchell told Termine last month that the situation could play a factor in Garnett’s decision.

Additionally, former Wolves coach Flip Saunders was believed to Garnett’s strongest ally in the organization, having convinced the veteran big man to waive his no-trade clause to come to Minnesota. KG. As Stein details, KG agreed to return to the Wolves in part because he was interested in joining Saunders in a potential ownership group for the franchise down the road. Saunders passed away prior to the start of last season, and it’s not clear now where Garnett’s ownership aspirations stand.

Wolves Notes: Garnett, Pekovic, Extensions, Butler

September 21st, 2016 at 4:37pm CST by Luke Adams

With training camp set to get underway on Tuesday, the Timberwolves still don’t have a definitive answer on whether or not Kevin Garnett will be back for one more season. As Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune details, Wolves president of basketball operations and head coach Tom Thibodeau said owner Glen Taylor will be involved in that decision.

“Glen and Kevin and his representatives are in discussions,” Thibodeau said. “We’ll keep that private for now, and we’ll see how it unfolds. But, obviously, what Kevin has meant to our league, the organization, he’s earned the right to have those discussions with Glen.”

While the Wolves wait to see whether Garnett will play out his contract or call it a career, let’s round up a few more items out of Minnesota, via Youngblood…

Veteran center Nikola Pekovic, who continues to recover from an Achilles issue, is not expected to be ready for training camp, says Thibodeau. “We wanted to get him here, try to give him an opportunity get in shape and get treatment,” Thibodeau said. “We were hopeful he would respond well. There have been some good days, but there have been a lot of setbacks as well. It’s something we’ll monitor going forward.” The Wolves head coach didn’t sound like he’s expecting much from Pekovic going forward, tweets Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune.
According to Thibodeau, Minnesota hasn’t talked much to Gorgui Dieng or Shabazz Muhammad about possible rookie-scale contract extensions. However, that could happen before the October 31 deadline, writes Youngblood.
The Wolves brought in free agent swingman Rasual Butler “for a couple days,” according to Thibodeau, who says the team will “make a final decision in the next day or so” on whether to add the veteran to its camp roster.