“When is this ***** gonna give his spot up?” - When Kevin Garnett insisted on former NBA champ giving up their spot for Derrick Rose
It's common in the NBA for veterans to admire younger players. Shedding light on such an instance, Jeff Teague revealed how Kevin Garnett, who was a big fan of Derrick Rose, appalled him for not giving his starting spot up to the 2011 MVP during their time together for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"I'm in Minnesota. So first of all, this ni***, he love D-Rose. Rightfully so, we all do," Teague said. "But I was starting. He (Garnett) was like, 'When is this n**** gonna give his fu***ng spot up?!'"
KG was adamant about D-Rose being the Timberwolves' starting PG
In the latter part of the 2017-18 season, the Timberwolves acquired Rose, wherein he featured in only 9 regular season games and averaged 5.8 points. However, in the team's first-round series against the star-studded Houston Rockets, the three-time All-Star showcased flashes of his dynamic skillset, averaging 14.2 points (4th highest in the team) on 50.9% shooting from the field and 70% from the 3-point line along with 2.6 assists (3rd best) despite getting 23.8 minutes over the five games.
Recognizing Rose's commitments, Garnett stood by him, asserting that despite the 6'3" point guard not being at his peak, he had earned the right to commence the 2018-19 season as the team's starting PG.
"You know, you get older, but the knowledge doesn't go anywhere," Garnett said. "He's more crafty now than ever in the pick-and-roll. He's able to get shots for guys, and he's able to knock shots down, so yeah, I would."
Though Rose didn't start ahead of Teague until the latter was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, the 2009 ROY stood tall on the faith and admiration shown toward him by Garnett, averaging 18.0 points on a then career-high 37% shooting from downtown across the 51 games he played in the regular season.
That wasn't the only time Garnett yelled at Teague
On one hand, where The Big Ticket never shied away from admiring Rose, it's safe to say that he didn't miss any opportunity to trash-talk Teague.
On one occasion, the one-time All-Star confessed that he dunked on Ray Allen out of frustration in response to Garnett's relentless trash-talking. While Teague was content with making his presence felt, he couldn't cap off his night in style as he air-balled the game-winner.
While Jeff already had low morale, the 15-time All-Star followed him in the tunnel to remind him why he shouldn't mess with the 'basketball gods.'
