That’s not all he said, either.
Kevin Garnett is gonna keep it real at all times, and he didn’t hold back any words in an interview with The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski about the drama that Jimmy Butler has brought in his return to Minnesota.
“I’m just hoping they can get through this rough patch and everybody can get on the same patch and figure it out. It’s a shit storm up there,” Garnett said. “What’s really the shit storm is that can’t nobody keep shit in practice. What goes on in practice should always stay in practice. And what goes on between two conglomerates as businesses should always stay (private). Everything is so god damn public now.”
Butler requested a trade weeks ago, and since Tom Thibodeau hasn’t found a deal he likes yet, the All-Star forward returned to Minnesota to wreak havoc on players and coaches in a recent practice. In that practice, Butler verbally challenged Thibodeau, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and general manager Scott Layden.
Garnett sees that Butler wants out, but why does he think things haven’t materialized quickly enough? It got real: Because he doesn’t think “Jimmy has enough juice” to force his own trade.
“I think both sides are a little delusional,” Garnett said. “I think Jimmy thinks his worth is a little more than what it is. He’s a very good player. I don’t see him on the (Kevin Durant) and LeBron (James) level. But if they are A-plus, he’s definitely A, A-minus.
“I don’t know if he had the power to come out and force a trade like this. He can be disruptive, but I don’t know if he actually had the clout to come out and do that. I don’t know if Jimmy has enough juice to be that.”
Let’s break out the grade scale
Who are our A-plus NBA stars? That’s almost like establishing tiers, but a little more selective.
A-plus would have to only include a handful of players, the guys who can go out there and win you a game by themselves. There are probably eight of those guys in the league:
Then we’ve got our A guys. Jimmy Butler falls into this category. A-minus is probably a little disrespectful, given he ended Minnesota’s 14-year playoff drought:
- Kawhi Leonard— until proven 100 percent healthy
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Russell Westbrook
- Kyrie Irving
- Damian Lillard
- Jimmy Butler
- Paul George
- Chris Paul
So Garnett did not tell a lie, not at all. Butler is definitely an A guy. There’s nothing wrong with that at all.
But KG said both sides are “delusional”
Tom Thibodeau has been the most confusing of all, trying to fleece teams out of every asset they have in a trade that involves the two-way All-Star. Yes, he should try to get the most he can, but with this circus dragging into the regular season, it’s time to get something done, and fast.
For what it’s worth, Garnett said he’s hopeful the Butler and the Wolves figure it out. He like their team and thinks they’re good as-is. That’s probably not going to be good enough.
Minnesota needs to figure this thing out. It’s a shit show, like KG said. And the last thing you want to do is take a shit show into the regular season.