Timberwolves Turmoil: Ownership Drama & Playoff Hopes
Amid Wolves' success, ownership dispute erupts. Playoff hopes overshadowed. Questions loom on leadership, roster, and future of the team.
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I cannot believe I have not written since mid-February but between regular life and some much-needed time off, I have not been able to publish anything. Writing weekly and multiple times per week is important to me. While all my subscribers and readers are important to me, I feel like an asshole taking money from paid subscribers and not delivering anything. So, I am pausing billing for paid subscribers until next month as a gesture of gratitude for their continued support.
There has been plenty of Wolves-related content, too, between the Karl-Anthony Towns injury, Naz Reid’s ascent and everything in between. I am looking forward to the coming weeks when my schedule clears up and can focus on writing in a way I have not been able to in a few years.
I should be able to return to this space and write about the mettle of this team remaining tied for first place in the Western Conference despite Towns’ injury. The Timberwolves — Minnesota Timberwolves — are vying for first place with 51 wins and five games remaining in the season. This team is good and fun in a way that few Timberwolves teams have been in the past 20 years. Yet, that is not what is on my mind.
No, my mind is not on the basketball. If you are reading this space, you have probably heard Glen Taylor has pulled the team off the market after alleging Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez missed the final payment deadline to claim majority ownership of the team, according to The Athletic. Read the story, but here are a couple of bullets:
Taylor alleges Lore and Rodriguez have not fulfilled the contract to purchase the team while saying they are more focused on things like building fancy suites, on his dime, Taylor notes, rather than trades and improving the team.
Lore and Rodriguez claim that they have the money and the NBA just has not approved the deal yet, but also declare that this has become “personal” and pledge to drag out the battle as long as they have to.
If you want to say that this is fine because Lore and Rodriguez may be able to buy the team, but lack the long-term ability to run it and eventually renovate or replace Target Center, I won’t disagree.
That Same Ol’ Same
Yet, as someone who grew up a Timberwolves fan and covered them closely for years, I am still disappointed. Taylor has a…complicated legacy as an NBA owner. While he did save the NBA in Minnesota, he has remained too loyal to coaches and executives beyond their expiration dates. For instance, once Randy Wittman and Kevin McHale were gone, Taylor needed a recommendation from then-Commissioner David Stern to hire David Kahn despite being an owner for nearly 15 years and a member of the Board of Governors. Kahn then held office for roughly four years. When he moved to fire Tom Thibodeau, while he may not have mandated Gersson Rosas to elevate Ryan Saunders to permanent head coach, it appeared there was influence to do so (Rosas later said this was bullshit, but what else was he going to say about his new boss at the time?)
That is not the issue with Lore and Rodriguez now. However, Taylor damaging relationships through public comments is a familiar move. We all remember his comments about Kevin Garnett “tanking” his final Minnesota season. There were also his unnecessary comments about Kevin Love’s defense and health after the Love trade and of course, the legendary comments about making Andrew Wiggins promise to play up to his new contract. Tangentially, there were numerous reports of tension between Tom Thibodeau and Taylor, in part, because his wife did not appreciate Thibs’ cursing.
What is so disappointing about last week’s news is that this was going to be a new era for the Minnesota Timberwolves. By winning percentage, this is the second-worst franchise of the four major men’s pro sports leagues (shoutout to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers). Suddenly, Lore and Rodriguez pushed for Tim Connelly as president of basketball operations and the Rudy Gobert trade followed that, while nearly universally panned at the time, has helped the team ascend to the top of the conference for the first time in two decades.
Four Questions About The Timberwolves Future
Two weeks ago, the Timberwolves had ascending Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, helpful role players, a bright coach and basketball decision-maker, and Gobert and Towns still in their primes. Now, it feels as if the team is facing the possibility of falling back into a more uncertain future. Here are some lingering thoughts and questions I still have:
The Connelly hire was costly; would Taylor retain him? Say what you will about Taylor, he will pay for players and personnel whom he believes worthwhile. Not many players have left this team because the team did not want to pay them. But Connelly was not a Taylor hire. The hope would be that Taylor has seen Connelly’s value this season but we know how it works in sports when someone is not “their guy” and Lore-Rodriguez were responsible for bringing him in.
One of the allegations in The Athletic article from Lore-Rodriguez is that Taylor now has seller’s remorse since the value of the team has soared since the sides first entered their agreement ($2.5 billion from $1.5 billion). Taylor says that by taking the team off the market, he is not looking for another seller right now. Granted, I’m not a millionaire or billionaire, but I would have a hard time walking away from an extra billion if I could get it.
Target Center is still the second-oldest building in the league and would likely need addressing by anyone who owns the team.
What about the payroll? I don’t particularly care how much the team spends on the roster when it is this good, but how eager would the team be to spend on one of the most expensive in the league? At least the team can wait to figure this out until the next trade deadline. This franchise has not paid the tax often, but they have paid it before, so it will be interesting to see what they will do.
While Garnett may be the player face of this franchise, last week’s news was a good reminder that Taylor is every bit a face of this franchise — for better and worse. As others have said, the ownership situation becoming a distraction for the players is unlikely. But for fans and observers alike, this does shift the focus from the great season the team is having to at least some degree. What’s worse is seeing another situation involving this team becoming a messy public spat as with Love, Garnett and others throughout the years. The common denominator now and those situations? Taylor.
The primary focus this weekend should be on Friday’s victory over the Denver Nuggets to take a 2-1 lead in the season series and one matchup remaining. This win had significant potential playoff implications, especially since they already own the tiebreaker with the Oklahoma City Thunder. No, once again the Timberwolves have pulled the focus from the court.
Excellent post Derek, it’s been a long 35+ years since that first game at the Metro-dump. Harv and Marv’s dream of the NBA return to the Twin-Towns became reality and I’ve been along for the ride ever since. True dat, that Glenn saved the team from moving, but he’s shown us a master class of fuckery over the years since! I’m not sure I’ve ever trusted a millionaire, nor a billionaire, knowing they’ve fucked up a large swath of people’s lives to pocket their riches,deciding who’s speaking truth will likely play out over the months ahead… good to see you back in the saddle again, thanks!!