In October 1997, Kevin Garnett signed a six-year, $126 million contract extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was 21 years old, two seasons removed from being the first player drafted straight out of high school in two decades, and the deal was the richest in NBA history. Within a year, it would help trigger the lockout that reshaped the league’s entire economic structure — and Minnesota would get no relief from the fallout.
NBA owners voted 27–2 in March 1998 to reopen the collective bargaining agreement, citing player salaries that had climbed to 57% of basketball-related income, well above the 48% the prior deal contemplated. The Garnett contract was the poster child. Owners specifically sought to prevent large contracts for young players “similar to the $126 million, six-year deal that Kevin Garnett had recently signed,” according to the league’s own bargaining position. The lockout began July 1, 1998, wiped out the All-Star Game, shortened the season to 50 games, and ended January 20, 1999, after 204 days.
The settlement introduced maximum player salaries — individual caps tied to years of service and the salary cap itself. The rule was designed to ensure no 21-year-old would ever again command $21 million a year. But Garnett’s deal was already signed. It was grandfathered at full value, and every dollar continued to count against Minnesota’s cap.
That’s where the story turns. The Timberwolves had locked in their franchise player at a number the new CBA was specifically built to prevent — and they were the only team in the league carrying a contract that large under the old rules. While San Antonio could fit Tim Duncan, drafted the same year Garnett’s deal was signed, into a max structure designed to be manageable, Minnesota was paying Garnett well above what any individual max would have allowed. The cap space that other teams enjoyed to build around their stars simply didn’t exist for the Wolves.
Garnett produced. He averaged 22.9 points and 11.8 rebounds in 1999–2000, finished second in MVP voting, and made nine All-NBA teams during his Minnesota tenure. The Timberwolves reached the playoffs eight straight years. But they advanced past the first round only once — in 2004, when Garnett won MVP and carried them to the Western Conference Finals. Duncan, operating under the new max structure, had already won two championships by then.
The cap pressure may have contributed to the worst decision in franchise history. In 1999, forward Joe Smith signed a series of one-year contracts with Minnesota at well below market value — under $3 million per season — based on a secret agreement that the team would reward him with a long-term deal worth up to $86 million later. The arrangement allowed the Timberwolves to retain Smith’s Bird rights and exceed the cap to re-sign him, freeing short-term payroll flexibility around Garnett’s massive number. When the hidden deal surfaced during a lawsuit between agents, Commissioner David Stern stripped the team of five first-round draft picks (2001–2005, though two were later returned), fined the franchise $3.5 million, and suspended owner Glen Taylor and general manager Kevin McHale from operations.
The Wolves never recovered the lost draft capital. Garnett was traded to Boston in 2007 and won a championship in his first season. Minnesota didn’t return to the playoffs for 13 years.
The league built the max salary to stop the next Garnett contract. It never built a mechanism to help the team that already had one.
Sources
- Wikipedia — 1998–99 NBA Lockout
- Wikipedia — Kevin Garnett
- Wikipedia — Joe Smith (basketball)
- Wikipedia — NBA Salary Cap
- Basketball Reference — Kevin Garnett