Doc Rivers Says Kevin Garnett Could Have Joined Clippers Before Retiring

Kevin Garnett's 21-year NBA career came to an end Friday, but the former MVP could have had an opportunity to continue playing with former head coach Doc Rivers on the Los Angeles Clippers.

Garnett officially announced his retirement through his Instagram account:

However, per ESPN.com's Jackie MacMullan, Rivers would have been willing to give Garnett a look for his team next season:

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I would have absolutely been interested in bringing him here. You always find a place for a guy like that, whose voice in the locker room is so strong, so clear, so impactful.

He's such a great teacher in practice. He should start a course in leadership. The NBA should designate who the best player is on each team and then they could bring Kevin in and he could teach them how to be the best player and the best leader. Better yet, they could bring him and Tim [Duncan] in and they could teach it together and show people how it can be done in two completely opposite ways.

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Rivers did say Garnett "doesn't want to play" anymore, adding he felt the 40-year-old hit a point where he thought, "Why am I doing this?"

Despite that sentiment, Rivers noted Garnett was working out as recently as a couple of weeks ago and that "he could play another year if he wanted to."

"Maybe that's why he's retired but not retired," Rivers told MacMullan. "He loves the young guys on that Minnesota team. They're great listeners, and he loved working with them. It's too bad it's ending like this for him."

After returning to the Minnesota Timberwolves in February 2015, Garnett agreed to a two-year extension with the franchise that originally drafted him back in 1995.

Rob Mahoney of Sports Illustrated wrote Thursday that Garnett's close relationship with former T-Wolves head coach Flip Saunders, who died last October at the age of 60 of cancer, was a contributing factor in returning to and signing an extension with Minnesota.

Perhaps the crowning achievement in Garnett's storied career came during the 2007-08 season. He was traded to the Boston Celtics in July, ending his 12-year run as the face of Timberwolves basketball.

The Celtics, who were coached by Rivers, also added sharpshooter Ray Allen that summer to form a Big Three along with Paul Pierce. That team went 66-16 and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers to win Boston's first NBA title since 1986.

Garnett would play six seasons with the Celtics under Rivers, with the only NBA championship of his storied career coming in that first year together.

Whatever the reason for Garnett deciding to hang up his basketball shoes, there's no denying the impact he had on every team he played for and the NBA.

That impact is why a revered coach like Rivers would want Garnett around for another season.