MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Timberwolves executive Kevin McHale said he appreciated Kevin Garnett's passion in a fiery interview that appeared in an espnmag.com article Tuesday, but team owner Glen Taylor was less supportive.

"I agree with what Kevin says, mostly," McHale said. "Everyone has to get better, Kevin included. If you don't care about something, it's always hard to get a change. But he cares; he cares a great deal."

Garnett didn't necessarily include himself when talking about change, when -- while shooting an AND 1 sneaker commercial with an ESPN writer present -- he said: "I can't do everything by myself."

Garnett also bristled at a suggestion he is overpaid, a timely topic given his eligibility for a contract extension. The Wolves hope to get Garnett's salary down from the $25.2 million he will be paid this season and $28 million in 2003-04.

"I think everyone is going to form their own opinion on that. Some guys are overpaid, some are underpaid," McHale said. "It's up to the market and it's up to the individuals to decide."

In the online story, the Wolves' All-Star forward, in frequently profane terms, also was critical of college basketball, dismissed criticism from Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley and bemoaned the fact that Wolves players rarely dine together after games anymore.

As for Garnett's salty language, McHale said: "I've been in NBA locker rooms my entire life. I know this is going to come as a shock to you, but it's not the first time I've heard that."

Taylor said he won't speak with Garnett about the interview, but if he did he would say: "It's been my experience that if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all."

Taylor said he does not take Garnett's comments personally.

"You don't know whether things were said in jest, whether he was acting, you just don't know," he said. "He has said the opposite of those things so many times."