Garnett praises Towns: 'You can't just go to the store and buy a 6-pack of beast'

When the Minnesota Timberwolves signed Kevin Garnett to a two-year, $16-million deal this summer, it wasn't for his playing ability.

No, Garnett's second tour of duty in Minnesota is all about developing the team's budding crop of prospects, and the 39-year-old has taken a particular liking to first overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns.

There's lots to like about Towns - he's agile, he's smart, he rebounds well, he blocks shots, he has a feathery jump shot that extends out to the 3-point line - but, more than anything else, Garnett likes one of Towns' intangible qualities.

Garnett loves Towns' motor, or as he calls it, "the beast."

"You can't teach the beast," Garnett told ESPN's Jackie MacMullan in a feature on Garnett as teacher. "It's either in you or it isn't. You can't just go to the store and buy a six-pack of beast. It don't work like that."

Garnett carries a long history of wearing out some teammates with his abrasive style of leadership, but the young 19-year-old Towns doesn't mind. He's learning all the time - in practice, on the court, sitting on the bench - hoping to soak up as much as he can from a future Hall of Famer.

"Whatever KG tells me to do," Towns says, "I'm going to do it."

And why wouldn't Towns listen? There's lots to learn from the OG.

"I'm the OG, the original gangster," Garnett explains. "Like when you go into the neighborhood and they see you and say, 'There's the OG.' It's a sign of respect, you know? The old guard. The old generation. These guys are the YG. It's their league now. I don't mind being the OG. It's what I am. I'm starting to see my purpose. Every day, it's clearer and clearer to me."