In his 6 year spell with the Boston Celtics, Kevin Garnett was not in his prime. Despite not scoring 20 points a season, KG helped the franchise win the championship back in 2008. That short stint is still celebrated as the Beantown retired the #5, which now hangs in the rafters at the TD Garden. Naturally, the question arises: What about the jersey retirement with the Minnesota Timberwolves? Good news might be coming soon.

“The Timberwolves are working towards having Kevin Garnett’s No. 21 jersey officially retired this season. New ownership wants to properly honor a franchise icon.” According to Forbes’ Evan Sidery, “With Minnesota bringing back their legendary uniforms, Garnett could finally see his number raised to the rafters.” And what couldn’t happen 10 years ago, well, it just might be on the horizon now.

Despite a glorious spell with the Wolves, Kevin Garnett remained at odds with the franchise

The 21-year veteran played 14 of those seasons with the Timberwolves, and 12 of those came in his first stint. During that time, in 8 seasons, they qualified for the playoffs, including the 2004 season, which KG led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals, their deepest playoff run in history. It also earned him his sole MVP trophy. His beef is not with the franchise or the fans, but with the previous owner.

Reports indicated that Kevin Garnett had an informal agreement with then-owner Glen Taylor and the late Flip Saunders, who served as both GM and head coach. The plan was straightforward. After his second stint and retirement with the Wolves, KG would assume a front-office role with the franchise. However, following Saunders’ untimely passing in October 2015 due to Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The agreement did not materialize. Naturally, Garnett viewed it as a sign of disrespect.

The Big Ticket didn’t take this insult lightly. He publicly called out Taylor, saying, “I won’t forgive Glen for that” and even went as far as calling him a “snake.” His frustration was so deep that he refused to have his No. 21 jersey retired by the franchise. The 15x All-Star already had his jersey retired by the Boston Celtics. But when it came to Wolves, KG declined and remained firm on his stance.

“Glen knows where I’m at, I’m not entertaining it. First of all, it’s not genuine.” He pretty much made it clear that until and unless Glen Taylor is the majority owner, the jersey won’t be hanging in the rafters. Since Taylor is out now, the fans want to celebrate Kevin Garnett, and the new franchise owners are All-In on this idea.

New owners bring new hope for KG

It took four years, but a few months ago, Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore became the new owners of the Minnesota franchise. The $1.5 billion takeover of the Timberwolves (and Lynx) was unanimously approved by the NBA Board of Governors. This marked the end of Glen Taylor’s 30-year run as team owner, who initially purchased the team in 1994 for $88 million. With this change, there’s real hope this decade-long feud could end. After all, KG’s issue was never with the Wolves; it was with Taylor.

A few months ago, Shams Charnia already reported on this development. “Now that they’re under new ownership, the Timberwolves will try to rekindle their relationship with Kevin Garnett and potentially retire his jersey.” Evan Sidery’s recent tweet confirms that the talks are not put on hold, and the franchise indeed wants to retire the iconic #21. There are other signs too. They will bring back their iconic Black Trees Classic Edition, an alternate uniform worn from 1998 to 2008, and there is a high chance that some of you associate this jersey with Kevin Garnett, who wore it often during that time period.