Will Timberwolves Fans Boo Kevin Garnett? (They Shouldn't)

The Boston Celtics visit the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight, which usually makes for a touching homecoming for Kevin Garnett. After all, he played 12 years of transcendent basketball for a franchise that was always mired in itself. He left quietly, never dragging the local crowd through a Decision or anything resembling Melo-drama. His name should be the opposite of mud in those parts. (Ice? Rocks?)

But KG angered people recently when he tacitly ripped the Minnesota franchise while drawing a distinction between "true fans" and the often comically inept team management:

"

It's always special to come back to true fans. But as far as that franchise...I have nothing to say.

"

The semantics and alliances are a bit tricky here. Fans root for the team, but the team entity can be different from those running it. For instance, devoted Golden State Warriors fans recently booed GSW owner Joe Lacob and suffered for years with former owner Chris Cohan at the helm. Though they badly wanted the best for their franchise, they did not have a positive assessment of those running the operation.

Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has the anti-KG spiel: 

"

What, exactly, is KG angry about when it comes to this franchise?

Could it be the chance the Wolves gave a skinny high school kid to play pro basketball -- a dream nurtured pretty well during those early years in Minnesota?

"

First off, the Wolves didn't give Garnett a "chance" so much as they lucked into his talent. If Minnesota had not drafted KG, somebody else would have. And the writer's eliding how Wolves owner Glen Taylor sure did kick Garnett on the way out:

"

It was more like KG tanked it. I think the other guys still wanted to play. But it sure changed the team and didn't make us [as good].

"

So Garnett certainly has cause to be angry. Wolves fans shouldn't, though.