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NBA Trade Deadline 2015: Kevin Garnett Back to Minnesota?

By Thomas Shefchik

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Feb 2, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets power forward

Kevin Garnett

(2) grabs a rebound in front of Los Angeles Clippers power forward

Blake Griffin

(32) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

I thought the Minnesota Timberwolves were done with the 2015 NBA Trade Deadline. Apparently I was wrong. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets are in talks that would bring the Timberwolves greatest player of all-time, Kevin Garnett, back to Minnesota. The Nets would receive Thaddeus Young in exchange.

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On the face of it, the reasons for making this trade seem obvious: The Timberwolves would have an opportunity to sell some tickets in what has otherwise been a mess of a season. There have been rumors of Garnett joining the Wolves ownership group upon retirement, and being able to bring him into the fold sooner and see him in a Wolves jersey one more time would be cool. The Nets would receive a player in Young who still has some tread left on his tires. From a basketball sense I can only see this move helping the Timberwolves in a couple of ways. First, whatever wisdom Garnett could impart on the younger guys could be helpful. The other thing that could be beneficial long-term is the fact that Garnett now plays center. Trading Young, a power forward, for a center could free up some minutes at the 4 position. Depending on match-ups, that could mean more small ball with Shabazz Muhammad, more time for Anthony Bennett to either sink or swim and more time for Gorgui Dieng at power forward.

The tough part for me to swallow would be the fact that the first round pick acquired in last summer’s blockbuster Andrew Wiggins–Kevin Love trade would only turn into two-thirds of a season from Young, a third of a season from Garnett and whatever cap savings would then be available. The cap savings don’t do a lot for me. As we’ve said in the past, it is difficult to lure top-flight free agents to Minneapolis.

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Young struggled quite a bit for the long stretch of the season when Kevin Martin, Ricky Rubio and Nikola Pekovic were injured. He, along with the since departed Corey Brewer and Mo Williams, was leaned on as one of the only veteran leaders left. It was not a completely foreign position to be on for Young, who had spent the past several years with the perpetually tanking Philadelphia 76ers. Still, Young has picked up his game as of late and still is an interesting piece going forward for the rebuilding Wolves.

The other factor to this deal is that Garnett holds a full no-trade clause in his contract with the Nets. He would have to voluntarily waive the no-trade in order to facilitate the move. For his part, Garnett sounds hesitant to uproot his family mid-season. From Stein’s piece:

"“I haven’t thought too much of my own personal [situation],” Garnett recently told Nets beat writers. “When that road comes, I’ll cross it and I’ll deal with it. A lot of things with [my] family situation and things, it’s not just convenient to get up and move, to change things. It’s not as convenient as it once was when I was younger. I have a lot more responsibilities and things to take into account.”"

So, this all may be much ado about nothing. Stay tuned for any updates as they become available.

UPDATE 1:33 P.M.:

Sounds like the deal in principle has been agreed on. Now it’s up to Garnett to decide. From Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski:

In an unrelated move, the Wolves are looking to unload Chase Budinger. Chase’s time with the Wolves has been marred by injuries. It is probably best for both sides to move on at this point. Again, from Woj:

More updates when the deadline passes at 2:00 P.M.

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