Former Timberwolves executive Kevin McHale was at Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night and discussed with FanHouse his time with Kevin Garnett in Minnesota.
Garnett admitted last month that he wishes he would have pushed for a trade earlier than when he did. McHale and the Timberwolves traded him to the Celtics after the 2006-07 season.
McHale says the huge contract extension that Garnett signed in 1997 hampered the team from building a proper supporting cast.
"That's always a tough thing," said McHale. "He signed that huge contract, and that huge contract was somewhat prohibiting the team from going out and finding other people (due to Garnett eating up so much of the salary cap). So it was a two-way street. He did the right thing. The money was offered. He took it. It was right before the new collective bargaining agreement."
The NBA locked out in 1998-99, in part because of Garnett's contract, and McHale admitted that Minnesota could have added "three or four players" to help the forward had he signed a maximum contract like the ones currently begin offered.