Welcome to the Friday edition of The Cooler, where certain people will always cause me to listen. Let's get to it:
*Timberwolves legend Kevin Garnett recently returned to Minnesota for a TNT feature in which he sat down with Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Ryan Saunders.
It was an interesting segment touching on several key areas, and it perhaps also signaled a thawing out of the relationship between KG and the Wolves that turned icy in recent years. Maybe it's just a coincidence that the renewed warmth is happening now that Tom Thibodeau — who played a role in KG's departure from the Wolves before the 2016-17 season — is gone and Ryan Saunders is the coach. Maybe not.
Regardless, here are some key takeaways from the segment:
*KG, who played with both guys when they were younger, prodded Wiggins and Towns about their relationship with Jimmy Butler. Wiggins said he has "no beef" with Butler, while Towns tried to explain what happened when the Wolves were routed by the 76ers in January when the players were reunited. "Too much emotion," KAT said. "We went in with a mindset of 'oh, we want to go show something.'"
*Towns expanded on earlier thoughts as to why his all-star selection this year meant so much to him. "I've been putting emotions and feelings into a box for a while," he said. "When that moment came up it was like the box opened up."
*Off-camera, Garnett said he was happy for Towns but also said he hopes KAT's second consecutive all-star berth will "light a fire" under Wiggins' posterior. On-camera, KG told Wiggins that he's mad at him for not being an all-star yet. "Next year is a motivation. Next year, that's what I'm aiming toward," Wiggins said.
*Towns on how Ryan Saunders is different from Thibodeau; "He's more of a father that says something lightly, but he's more disappointed. And you don't want to disappoint your father. It gives you a different drive."
