The 2016-17 NBA season has the chance to look quite different, as if losing Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant wasn’t enough.
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves are in “advanced discussions” on a buyout to end Garnett’s second tenure with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Minnesota and Kevin Garnett are in advanced discussions on a buyout expected to end KG's second stint with the Wolves, league sources say.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 22, 2016
According to Stein, it doesn’t seem like Garnett will opt to play for another team:
The belief in Minneapolis, sources told ESPN.com, is that Garnett, at age 40, will opt for retirement after 21 seasons in the NBA.
But the strongest signals Wednesday night pointed to Garnett and his representatives securing a settlement with the Wolves that will lead to his departure from the organization with one season and $8 million left on his current contract.
Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune also reports that the agreements can’t be negotiated until the team’s owner, Glen Taylor, know’s Garnett’s intentions.
Per Youngblood, the two haven’t spoken in weeks:
“I have not talked with him at all,’’ Taylor said. “We have to decide, in the next couple weeks, if he’s going to play or not play. I’m waiting for him. I sent him a message, told him, ‘I need you to make a decision.’ I just haven’t heard from him.’’
While we don’t have a definitive answer in terms of what will become of Garnett’s future, it certainly seems like this could be it for him.
That means we would lose Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett all in the same offseason. The NBA will not look the same.
[ESPN/Minneapolis Star Tribune]
