Kevin Garnett reveals his craving to team up with the Black Mamba at LA Lakers: "Kobe Bryant respected dogs"

On an episode of Showtime Basketball's "All The Smoke", Kevin Garnett revealed who he really wanted to team up with during the summer of 2007. At the time, Garnett had a number of suitors from the Warriors, Suns, Lakers, and the Celtics.

However, because of Kevin Garnett's close relationship with Kobe Bryant, he wanted to band together with him on the Lakers team. Garnett said:

"I'm just being honest with everybody, I wanted to link with Kobe. Because Kobe and I had like a different connect. I'm one of the very few that stayed with him and I was a neutral guy anyway. But Kobe respected dogs. He never really got into it with somebody that he really respected."

Garnett spent 12 seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves as one of the best power forwards to have ever played the game. However, he could not get the team over the playoff hump to win a championship as he lacked the proper pieces around him to contend against the best in the league.

During the interview, Kevin Garnett also talked about what his mindset was when choosing which team to go to. He thought he only had one shot at getting the team right that could help him secure a championship in his career.

The connection and bond with Kobe Bryant was there and it made the Lakers a strong option for Garnett to go with. However, he ended up going with the Boston Celtics, resulting in a championship season.

Why did Kevin Garnett go with the Boston Celtics over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers?

In an interview with Olivia Harlan Dekker and Jerry Ferrara on the BetMGM Unleashed Podcast, Garnett revealed he could not get in touch with Byrant when he was making his free agency decision in 2007. Garnett said:

"When I couldn't actually get in contact with him, and it was just taking so long to be able to have a conversation with him, I had to make a decision. So I looked at it like it was a bigger, and probably [better] longevity play, with Boston. And I had to make the decision, but yeah I wanted to play with Kobe."

At the time, Kobe Bryant was in China for Nike and had an obviously busy schedule.

Additionally, Kevin Garnett also spoke about the Lakers' situation with Bryant as another factor in making him go with Boston, as was revealed in an article written by Virgil Villanueva from Basketball Network.

"LA was going through some difficulties with Kobe and him not wanting to be there," Garnett said. "The problems he was having with management bothered me a lot. I’m thinking, 'this is their No. 1 player and he’s going through all this? What’s it going to be like for me?'”

During his first year with the Celtics, Kevin Garnett was a pivotal piece in leading the team to a championship win against the Lakers in the 2008 finals. He averaged 18.2 points per game (42.9% shooting) and 13.0 rebounds in the finals.