The Minnesota Timberwolves are bringing back the best player in franchise history to finish his career with the team that drafted him. The Wolves have acquired 38-year-old Kevin Garnett from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for power forward Thaddeus Young, according to NBA.com's David Aldridge.
Kevin Garnett traded back to Timberwolves, according to report
KG’s returning to Minnesota for one last hurrah.
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Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
The future Hall of Famer agreed to waive his no-trade clause before the trade deadline on Thursday, in order to finish his playing days where he started them.
What the Timberwolves are getting
Garnett spent the first 12 years of his career in Minnesota. The Wolves drafted him out of high school with the fifth overall pick in 1995, inadvertently opening the preps-to-pros pipeline for future stars like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Garnett didn't win a championship until he was traded to the Celtics in the summer of 2007, but the bulk of his Hall of Fame career was formed in Minnesota.
Garnett was named league MVP in 2004 when he led the Timberwolves to 58 wins and an appearance in the Western Conference Finals. He's the Timberwolves' all-time leading scorer, and a 15-time All-Star. Garnett has also been open with his desire to one day become the owner of the Timberwolves when his playing career is over. The Wolves are hoping KG can mentor young players like Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Gorgui Dieng.
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What the Nets are getting
While this trade is all about the sentimentality of Garnett returning to Minnesota, the Nets were able to pick up a nice player out of it. The Wolves acquired Young from the 76ers this summer for a packaged headlined by the Heat's 2015 first-round draft pick. However, with Young owning an early termination option and the collective youth on Minnesota's roster, it seemed clear Young wouldn't be retained going forward.
The 26-year-old Young is averaging 14.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season, while shooting 45 percent from the field. Garnett, meanwhile, has averaged 6.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 42 games with Brooklyn this season, so it’s presumably an upgrade of sorts for the team.
Young holds an early termination option for the 2015-16 season worth $9.97 million. It’s unclear whether he’ll exercise it and pursue a long-term deal or stick around for another year.
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